Matter Over Mind
by ILuvWatchingTV
Summary: Abandoned by his father Carlos Garcia has been with Logan Mithcell since he was nine years old. All he ever wanted to do was go outside and see the world. When that day comes Logan is determined to keep Carlos all to himself through any means necessary. AU,Cargan and Kames.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Past to the Present**

With the tip of his fingers he tied the rope tightly with as a knot making sure it won't snap like the other times he tried to pull this stunt. He used large elastic bands and tied them to two locked doors and pulled them as far as he could and tying them to the main rope creating a slingshot. He grabbed his safety gear and placed them on his knees, elbows, shoulders, and his black hockey helmet. Turning around he looked at the cleared hallway and narrowed his eyes when he saw the cushions, pillows, and blankets piled up to make his landing as comfortable and painless as possible. He sat on his boards and placed his fingerless gloves and smiled as he felt his blood pump with adrenaline and excitement at what he wanted to accomplish. From his pocket he took out a lighter and flipped it open and an orange flame appeared on the top of the burner. He lowered it to the rope and quickly closed the cap throwing it aside and gripped the hand-made handle bars of his board. He waited and grinned when he heard a snap he yelled as he was pushed forward and zooming through the hallway with an alarming speed making tears come out of his eyes from the harsh air hitting his eyeballs and skin. "Wooooo-hooooo!"

The teen didn't hear the opening and closing of a door and footsteps, his eyes widened when he noticed a familiar adult standing in the middle of the hallway, "uh-oh."

The adult turned when he heard unusual noises and gasped when he saw the teen coming towards him dangerously. He quickly took a step back and saw him pass by and gaped when he saw the latino get thrown into a large pile of pillows and blankets creating a storm of feathers from the newly torn cushions. He ran to him and noticed the grinning latino slowly sitting up. His worried expression turned into an annoyed one and he crossed his arms. "Carlos."

He would be screaming with joy if he didn't hear the adult's voice call out his name, he slowly peeked from the blanket that somehow rested on top of him. With a nervous laugh he gave him a small wave, "hey Logan you're back early."

Standing in front of him was Logan Mitchell one of the youngest CEO's in the United States he specializes in hospitable management and owns facilities across the nation including some in other countries. He stood five feet and nine inches he has light skin making him seem pale with piercing brown eyes well structured cheek bones and chin, his brown hair matching his eyes was slightly spiked up front in a short faux hairstyle. He was currently wearing a white button up shirt the sleeves rolled to his elbows with a loose black tie around his neck, gray slacks with black shoes. His arms were crossed on his chest a frown on his lips his brows scrunched in anger making Carlos flinch, "my meeting ended early."

"Oh."

Logan sighed and watched Carlos crawl over the mess of blankets and pillows and stood up once he reached the tiled floor. "How many times did I tell you not to pull of anymore of your dangerous stunts?"

"A lot."

"Apparently; not enough."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "sorry Logan…I got bored."

"You got bored?" he said in a perplexed tone with a quirked brow. "You got bored with rooms filled with video games, TV, movies, comic books, regular books, and a bunch of stuff that could keep you occupied for weeks maybe months?"

He looked at the floor with interest feeling with guilt. "I'm sorry it's just…" he looked up at him, "I want to try new fun stuff that I don't get to do much here."

"You could have done something else, preferably something that was safe and won't give you any more injuries." He stepped towards him taking off Carlos's helmet smoothing out his hair and dusted off a few feathers on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry to worry you," he apologized again making Logan smile down at him.

"Promise me you won't do it again or other stunts; I don't want another bathtub pool incident again."

"It was one of the hottest days in Minnesota!"

He raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay."

"Good," he kissed his temple and gave him back his helmet. Carlos's eyes widened when he saw him heading towards the door separating him from the world.

"You're leaving? You just got here."

Logan gave him a smile over his shoulder, "I'll be back soon I just have to deal with some stuff then we could play a game or do something together."

He smiled in excitement as he opened the door, "oh before I forget make sure to clean up before I come back."

His shoulders slumped as he looked back at the feathers in the ground and some of the torn pillows and scattered blankets, "yeeeaaah."

Logan chuckled and closed the door he turned around to look at the mess listening to the faint clicking sound of the door being locked. He sighed taking off his safety pads and throwing them carelessly at a nearby sofa, he sat on a chair and looked at the helmet on his lap. Placing a hand on his temple he felt a small smile creep onto his lips as he remembered the kiss Logan gave him earlier. Every time Logan gets close to him or passes his personal space he always feels butterflies flutter in his stomach or faint tingles when he touches his arm or hand. But when Logan placed his lips on his skin his heart skips so may beats he wonders if it could be hazardous to his health. He shook his head with his thoughts who was he kidding Logan will never fall for a guy like him who always wants to goof around and have fun he has no idea how Logan puts up with him, he probably wants a sophisticated intelligent man or woman, but he doesn't care as long as he gets to spend time with his crush.

If he can call it that, he has been having a crush on Logan since he was twelve years old and doesn't know if it is a crush or something beyond that. When he got older he started having wet dreams with the handsome brunette making him feel uncomfortable around him making Logan having to explain the changes of his body through a health video he made him watch. Those were the most embarrassing months of his life, but he was able to control them as he grew. He didn't know if he liked girls or guys and was facing that conundrum for a while until he had a conversation with Logan finding out that he was bisexual and apparently so was Carlos when Logan talked about hot men or women he would blush to a color of a tomato making Logan laugh.

Looking back at the door his smile faded into a frown, the door was dark brown with a gold color knob that only locks from the outside. When Carlos was young whenever Logan walked out the door he would try to open it to follow him or go outside, he's been in his little area ever since Logan took him in when he was nine years old.

**Flashback**

Carlos adjusted the large hockey helmet on his head for the hundredth time that day with his small hand, while the other was held tightly by his dad. They left their apartment two hours ago and had been on multiple buses to get to their destination. Carlos craned his neck to see the largest house he has ever seen, his dad said that it was a mansion where some rich people lived. He looked at the large house with a curious expression as his father pulled him around it to a small door, in the middle of a large hedge, his dad opened it and he gasped at the flowers that were blooming in front of him. They were in a garden surrounded by a rainbow colors of flowers from lightest to the darkest shades and a water fountain in the middle with large trees in the end, he felt like he was in another world like in his fairy tale books his mom used to read.

He wanted to stay and look around, but his dad pulled him harshly having no choice in the matter, but to go with him. They walked to a glass door and he pushed it open making sure that his son was behind him. In the middle of the hallway there were two people a man that made Carlos hid behind his father and a young boy that was a few years older than Carlos.

"Do you have it?" the man asked not bothering with greetings and getting straight to the point.

Mr. Garcia swallowed nervously, "I need more time."

"I have been patient and gave you too many chances either you don't have it or we will take away your property." The man said with a neutral tone, but his eyes will forever be embedded in Carlos's memories because it reminded him of the evil villains from the cartoons he watched before they do something bad and hurt people.

"I have nothing left I'll soon lose my home and I lost my job I have nothing."

"That is not true," he looked down to see intertwined hands and a small child that was hiding.

Mr. Garcia's eyes widened and stepped fully in front of Carlos making sure that he wasn't able to see him, "you're not taking my son."

The man raised a brow, "who said anything about taking your son I thought that maybe your boy will have to go to a orphanage since he doesn't have a mother and will probably be fatherless soon."

He clenched his jaw not wanting to show fear to this man in front of his son.

"Father," the young boy said gaining his attention.

"Yes?"

They both turned around their backs facing Mr. Garcia, he took the opportunity and crouched so he was at eye level with his son. "Listen to me hijo no matter what happens remember that I always love you alright."

He gave him a confused look when he saw his father's worried face; his father never showed any fear he always saw him as a strong man that could face anything. Nonetheless he nodded, "I love you too papi."

He gripped his hand tightly and tapped his helmet, "be strong no matter what we are Garcias we are always strong and brave there will be times when you want to cry or feel upset or sad, but never forget to be fuerte, strong."

"I don't get it."

"You will someday."

"Mr. Garcia," he stood up and turned to the two who still had neutral looks making him unable to read them. "I will forget about your payment in exchange for your son."

Immediately he shook his head, "I'll find some other way to pay you, but I'm not giving up my son."

"It is not a question and you have no opinion in the matter." In other words it is an order than a decision and they both knew it. Mr. Garcia looked down at his son and back at the man.

He nodded solemnly.

"I will give you five minutes to say your goodbye and then you will remove yourself off of my property, I suggest you leave the city." With that said the man left leaving his son the young boy to the other two occupants.

Mr. Garcia crouched again and whispered, "remember what I told you and hopefully I'll see you soon."

"¿Papi?"

The man let go of his hand and turned around quickly opening the door.

"¿Papi donde vas?" the child asked as he followed him.

Mr. Garcia closed the door and walked away not looking back Carlos reached the door. "Papi!" he looked up at the handle, it was too high for him to reach and placed his hand on the glass watching his father walk away from his life.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the boy who was next to the evil eye man, "it's okay," the boy assured him with a smile. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Do you know when my dad is coming back?" Carlos asked.

"No," he softly said. "I don't know _if_ he's coming back."

Looking back outside he couldn't see his father, but only the reflection of himself and the boy who gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Come on I'm going to show you where you're going to stay."

"I'm supposed to go home," he said not moving from his spot.

"You can stay here until you can go back home."

The boy grabbed him by the shoulders and gently took him away from the door walking him towards a different direction. When they were a few feet away from the door he grabbed the child's hand and took him to a staircase. Carlos looked back again as if his father will appear and call for him, but he didn't as they reached the top of the stairs and reached another hallway. The boy turned and continued walking, it was bare except for a few paintings hanging on the walls and the occasion vases with different flowers probably from the garden he saw earlier. What seemed like hours they finally reached a large dark brown door, the boy took out a key from his pocket and placed it inside the keyhole turning it unlocking the door. They entered and Carlos's jaw dropped at the size of the room it was the size of his entire apartment maybe larger, the teen took his advantage to lock the door putting away the key in his pocket.

"Come on I'm going to show you you're room."

He followed him walking to a hallway and noticed that there are more doors than the hallway he was in earlier. He wanted to ask what was in them, but they reached the end and the boy opened the door on the right, "this is your room."

Carlos went inside and his eyes widened at the size of it, it was probably bigger than their living room and kitchen combined. The walls were light blue including the ceiling and the carpeted floor was dark blue, there was a queen size canopy bed with blue covers and light blue curtains that were tied at the bed posts. There was a dark brown desk with a chair in front of it a dark brown dresser, a window near the bed that gave him a view of the full moon with dark blue curtains and there was an open door that shows a bathroom.

"I'll be back with some pajamas; you can make yourself comfortable while you wait." Carlos turned to see the boy leave the doorway. He walked to the window and stood in front of it looking at the city in the distance and looked down to see the garden looking beautiful under the moon light. His father left him in a large house with a boy he didn't know and a man with evil eyes. Looking down he expected his dad will return and take them back to their small home. He liked the room he was in, but he rather sleep in bed with the man that raised him. But for tonight he won't, he'll sleep alone wondering when he will come back or if he will come back at all. He felt his cheeks wet and wiped it with his hands, they were tears. His father said to be strong, but right now he felt like curling in a ball and cry until he runs out of them and that's exactly what he did his legs weren't able to hold his small shaking body and he fell on his bottom hugging his legs and hiding his face on his knees crying his eyes out.

He will never get to see his father again; he won't be able to take him to school, watch movies, play games, read him to bed, or tell stories about his mom. He jumped when he felt someone next to him and lifted his head to see the boy putting his arms around him. "Shh, it's okay; everything is going to be fine."

"I-I want t-to go-o home back to my p-papi," Carlos felt movement and was surprise to feel being moved. He looked up and noticed the boy was smiling down at him wiping away the tears on his cheek with his thumb then he gently pulled his head so he was lying on his chest. With his small arms Carlos wrapped them around the teen and cried, he felt his arm being rubbed gently and his soothing voice in his ear telling him that everything was going to be okay.

"My name's Logan what's yours?"

He sniffed and replied with a small voice, "Carlos."

"You have a nice name," he complimented.

"Gracias."

He looked down at him, "you speak Spanish?"

"A little, m-my d-dad taught m-me," this brought fresh new tears and felt Logan hugging him again.

"It's okay Carlos I'm going to take care of you so everything will be fine and you'll be comfortable as possible alright?" That was the last thing he heard before everything turned black and he fell asleep.

The next day when he woke up Logan was next to him and held him in his arms when he cried again and again and again. Soon he fell right at home in his own little area in the mansion and Logan gave him every toy he ever dreamed of playing making him smile again after nearly half a year after being depressed. He tried to follow Logan when he started leaving claiming that he needed to start learning how to be alone in his area because he will soon be doing a lot of work making him busy. One time when Logan left he tried to open the door it was locked and when Logan came he asked why the door was always locked every time he left. Logan claimed that he always locked the door to make sure that no one comes into his area because his mansion is one of the oldest in the state and there are always people visiting and didn't want anybody to come for his safety. At first he was upset that he was being locked up, but soon it became a habit and it didn't bother him. But as he grew older he started finding the idea of being in his area irritating, but he had to bear it for everything Logan had done for him it will seem selfish of him to ask. As he grew up he started liking him more as a friend and soon had a crush on him and is still debating if he reached the level of love since the last time he felt love towards a person he left him to who knows where.

Shaking his head he got up grabbing the blankets and folding them as he started cleaning getting his mind off of his thoughts and started thinking about what he will probably do with Logan for the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Surprise Visit**

The morning sun was beaming it's rays for the new day at the ground below it, there were some birds that were chirping as they were in the bird bath that was in the garden near the trees. One blue bird in particular flew up to Carlos's window and with its beak tapped on the glass multiple times wanting to get the teen's attention. Underneath the dark blue covers the latino groaned when he heard an annoying noise, a few moments later he opened his eyes to see the curtains open showing him the clear blue sky. Moving his head he saw a familiar figure on his window sill and realized where the noise was coming from. He slowly sat up and stretched his arms and yawned then he removed the covers off himself and planted his feet on the ground. He walked to the window and unlocked the latch and pulling it open the blue bird fluttered its wings as a greeting.

He smiled, "good morning Sapphire."

The bird chirped at the teen and eagerly flew to his outstretched arm walking to his shoulder. He met Sapphire when he heard a large thud on his window during a storm and opened it to see a blue bird with a bloodied wing its entire body drenched from the rain. Immediately he picked up the injured bird gently and took it to his bathroom using one of his small towels to dry it and treat its wound. He kept it until it got better, Logan found out when he found the bird being caressed by Carlos and told him to let it go once it was able to fly. Two weeks later he opened the window and let the bird go free with a sad expression, but every morning after that incident the bird will make its presence known as it tapped his window before Carlos woke up sometimes being his alarm clock. He got a book about birds and found out it was a female eastern blue bird and named it Sapphire since her blue wings seemed like they shine like the jewel under the sun, moon, or when she's wet.

She was his only friend other than Logan and talked about everything to her including his secrets. Sapphire was also a secret to Logan since he doesn't allow pets in his area so it won't make too much noise to attract strangers. He's been keeping her secret so Logan won't separate him from the only friend he had in his lonely abode. They would play games such as hide and seek or races to see who was faster, they also watched movies and Carlos is able to read Sapphire's body language and know how she feels or what she thinks, she was a really smart bird. He taught her signals and Spanish so when he's speaking she can understand him and hide from Logan when he gives her signals or when she hears the click of the door as it was being unlocked.

Carlos puts on his brown fluffy slippers and opened the door leaving his room walking down the hallway heading towards the kitchen. There were two entrances to the kitchen one in the hallway the other in the living, the living room was next to the kitchen making it easier for him to grab snacks or drinks quickly so he won't miss his shows or movies in TV during commercials.

"What do you feel like for breakfast Sapphire?" He asked her as they entered the kitchen Sapphire chirped and flew to the marble counter facing the cabinets, "Berries?"

She chirped again as a yes.

Carlos walked to the cabinet and grabbed a bag of dry berries and a box of cereal for himself and then went to the refrigerator and took out milk, a juice box, and other berries. He mixed some of the berries in it and placed it in front of her, she chirped and jumped on the edge of the bowl and dug in. Carlos chuckled as he took a larger bowl and poured his milk and then the cereal and he grabbed a spoon from a drawer and took a seat in his small dining table that was large enough for four people. He ate his breakfast with Sapphire in silence reminiscing yesterday's events.

When Logan came back an hour later he changed to casual clothes, a plain brown shirt with a black sweater vest, dark blue skinny jeans, and black converse. He helped Carlos clean a bit and treated some of his injuries giving him lectures on how to treat his wounds if he ever got hurt accidently and emphasized that he shouldn't continue doing his stunts. After his treatment they ate dinner and played a few video games then Carlos changed into his pajamas and watched movies the rest of the evening until Logan picked him up and took him to bed when he nearly fell asleep on their fifth movie.

His head shot up when he heard a faint clicking noise; Sapphire already accustomed to the sound flew and hid behind boxes of flour and sugar on top of the refrigerator. Carlos quickly took the small bowl of berries and placed it next to his breakfast.

"Good morning Carlos," Logan smiled as he appeared in the doorway of the kitchen wearing a black business suit with a dark green tie.

"Morning, do you want something to eat or drink?"

"No thanks I had breakfast an hour ago."

He shook his head, "I will never know why you wake up at unholy hours."

Logan laughed, "it's part of my job."

"Do you get used to it?"

He shrugged as he took a seat next to him, "it becomes a habit."

He took a sip from his orange juice. "So what are you going to do today?"

"The usual," he replied with boring tone. "Business meetings, stocks, organizing stuff it will probably take me the entire day."

Carlos frowned at the thought of not seeing Logan the whole day. He got used to not seeing him for days sometimes weeks because he has business trips from other states sometimes outside the U.S. "Oh."

Noticing his disappointed expression he placed his hand on top of his, "hey don't be upset I'll be with you for the entire day the day after tomorrow, I have a charity event to go to tomorrow so i'll be yours for the entire day after that."

He gave him a nod, "I understand."

"What are you going to do today?" Logan asked; wanting to change the subject.

"It's Friday so I'm going to have to go to class." Carlos started taking classes online after he got rid of his depression. It was the same education he got at school, luckily for him Logan was really smart and was able to tutor him with subjects he didn't understand meaning spending more time with him. It was the same thing like regular school there were dead lines, homework, essays, tests, including projects. He enjoyed it, but at the same time he was upset since he had no classmates and his only friend was a bird. He continued speaking, "then I'm going to watch some movies that I've been meaning to see, play a game or two, read then play guitar."

Logan smiled and leaned forward in interest. "Have you played any songs yet?"

Feeling his cheeks heated he quickly went back to his breakfast and nodded answering Logan's question. He started playing the guitar when he was ten when Logan wanted him to take up a hobby; he chose to learn how to play the guitar because he remembered that his mom loved listening to it at the park whenever they went there when he was a kid. Like school he learned through the internet, his favorite is when he plays Spanish songs along with a few of his favorite songs in English such as some from Bruno Mars.

"I can't wait to hear them."

He cleared his throat and finished his juice, "I sometimes mess up."

"I'm sure you'll get better." Logan encouraged, "you are kind of a natural."

"Sometimes I play in my room and imagine I'm out-," he bit his lip carefully choosing his next words. "Outside of my room."

Logan raised a brow at his action, "Carlos?"

He shook his head and stood up not wanting to look at him as he placed his bowl in the sink. "It's nothing."

"You were going to say outside weren't you?"

He stayed quiet.

Logan sighed. "Carlos I know you want to go outside, but we've already discussed this."

"I know." Another reason why Logan locks the door is because he made sure Carlos won't leave. It always irked him that he wouldn't let him go outside not even to the garden. Logan always explained that he was better off inside where no one can hurt him and he could be happy with what he had. For years he tried to convince Logan to let him out to the world, but stopped when he realized it was selfish of him to keep asking after everything he has done for him. He would watch the travel channel and read books about countries around the world that Logan had the opportunity to travel. He would imagine himself looking at large cities like Los Angeles, famous land marks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and a whole bunch of other places he always dreamed of going. Since he couldn't travel the world he was satisfied at looking at the small city outside his window and the garden below him wondering if it was really like the fairy tales he remembered when he first came here. But he could never ignore the nostalgic feeling in his chest for wanting to go outside. "Just forget I mentioned it."

He heard the chair being moved and footsteps coming towards him, he felt arms being wrapped around him and his back against something warm. "I do this for your own good, you know that right?" Logan whispered in his ear.

"Yeah," he said with a sad smile. "I do."

There was a sudden sound coming from Logan's pocket, Carlos frowned recognizing it was Logan's alarm. He took it out still holding Carlos with his other arm as he looked at his cell phone. Logan pressed a button silencing it and sighed, "I have to go."

Carlos turned around so he was facing him, "see you later."

"Promise," he kissed his cheek and with a final hug he turned around and left the kitchen and his area as Carlos heard the faint noise of the door being locked. Sapphire came out of her hiding spot and flew to Carlos's hand looking up at him with a small chirp and gently tapped her beak on his skin twice giving him comfort.

He smiled and gently stroked her wing, "thanks."

She chirped at him.

"Must be nice being able to leave and fly the sky feeling the air against your feathers being able to go to faraway lands," he commented with a dreamy sigh.

He walked back to the table and placed Sapphire on her bowl of berries. "See you in a bit."

She gave him a flap of her wings at him and continued eating as he left to his room to change and face the new day.

* * *

"Man this has got to be the biggest mansion I've ever seen."

"It's the only mansion you ever saw."

"Stop being an ass and enjoy the trip."

The blonde sighed, "fine."

Kendall Knight was currently with his friend Guitar Dude visiting one of the oldest mansions of Minnesota home to a CEO who has a meeting with Guitar Dude's dad, a well known business man. He decided to bring his son and Guitar Dude decided to bring one of his friends so he won't be bored. Guitar Dude always carries a guitar and hopes to one day become a singer, but his dad is determined for him to take over his business when he is old and mature enough and stops going after his childish dreams. So here he is in a mansion being bored out of his mind while they are on a tour group while Guitar Dude's dad is meeting the CEO. After being in the tour group for fifteen minutes he decided that his school's most boring teacher is more entertaining than their cranky thirty year old tour guide named Steve.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Kendall said pointing towards the door.

"You better hurry the dude looks like he's about yell at a kid." He said with fake amusement.

"I'll try to rush so I won't miss it," he replied sarcastically.

After using the bathroom and washing his hands he stepped out and noticed the missing group. He walked down the hall to catch up with them only to see it empty.

"Fuck." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed with fatigue. He didn't know where he was, tired from yesterday's hockey practice, and had to wake up early on a Saturday to go with his companion so he won't be bored. This was so not his day. With a sigh he took out a map of the mansion from his pocket he got earlier before the tour and went towards a random direction hoping that it was a way towards the stairs that will take him to the first floor where there was a gift shop and a coffee shop across the street.

Thirty minutes of roaming in the hallways and hitting dead ends he concluded that he was lost, he thought about texting Guitar Dude, but he probably had his phone off or on silent since it was mandatory, by Steve, to have phones off during the tour for no interruptions. He had to admit the mansion was elegant and luxurious inside and out, it looked like it was built during the eighteen hundreds and felt like he was in the past, the only difference is that it was modernized with electricity and plumbing. Most of the walls were light yellow and the floor was red carpet with intricate designs along the ceiling. When he wasn't worried about being lost he will take some time to look at the paintings hanging on the walls marveling at the work.

He was about to turn to a hallway when he bumped into someone making him fall on his back on the floor with a loud thud. The first thing he saw were papers flying everywhere, with a groan he sat up and rubbed his head, "I'm so sorry I didn't see where I was going."

"It's okay; I didn't see where I was going either." He started picking up the papers that were near him and organized them when he saw a paper farther away from him, he reached for it before a large hand fell on top of his. Immediately feeling electricity shoot through his arm he looked up to see a handsome man with a smile that made his breath hitch. Kendall found out he was gay after he dated girls and never felt a connection to them until he kissed a boy through a dare and enjoyed it. There were a few guys at school that caught his eye, but the male before him was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He had a beautiful tan skin; light brown hair with bangs above his eyebrows, it looked so soft it made him want to comb his fingers through it, with hazel eyes that seemed to glow and a smile with perfect pearly white teeth.

"Hey."

He blushed and quickly removed his hand, "h-hi, s-sorry about this." He raised his papers and the man chuckled.

"Don't worry about it." He said taking the paper and putting in the stack he picked up, "accidents happen."

He nodded and they both stood up, Kendall's eyes widened at his appearance. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a yellow tie, a white collared shirt underneath, dark blue slacks matching the suit with black loafers. Kendall noticed that the man was taller than by a few feet since he only reached his shoulders and he had to crane his neck to look up at him. The man's smile turned into a smirk as he noticed the teen eyeing him, when Kendall reached his face he noticed his smirk and quickly looked away stretching his arm for him to grab the papers.

"Thanks," he reached for them making sure to touch his hand as he grabbed his papers and slowly took them back sliding his fingers across the teen's hand making him shiver.

Kendall cleared his throat making sure not to stutter when he spoke, "well I have to get going."

Before he took a step the man was instantly in front of him, his cheeks burned at how close he was. "Are you lost?"

"N-not really," Kendall stuttered a bit before taking a step back.

The man raised a brow and took a step towards him, "it looks like you are." He took a map from his pile and showed it to him.

"I can explain," the man waited. Kendall quickly grabbed the map making the man blink when he saw his hand empty and looked at the teen that was quickly hiding the map in his back pocket. When he looked up he took his hand back and waited for him to speak. "…I'm lost."

He chuckled making the blonde blush and look away again. "It's okay; I got lost here a lot when I first came here." The blonde turned to him. "It took me a month to find my way around this labyrinth." The man smiled as he saw the blonde let out a small laugh.

"My name is James. James Diamond," he outstretched his hand. Kendall took his hand and shook.

"Kendall, Kendall Knight," his heart skipped a beat when James brought his hand to his luscious lips and kissed his knuckles.

"It's nice to meet you."

He swallowed nervously when he saw his hazel orbs staring at him with a smile gracing the same lips that touched his skin, "l-likewise."

"James!"

They both jumped from the noise and Kendall quickly took his hand back. James cursed under his breath.

"I, um, better go."

"But-," He turned to see him gone and looked around to see a flash of blonde hair turning a corner.

"James there you are," Logan Mitchell appeared from the same hallway James was in before. "I've been looking for you, did you get the contracts?"

He was surprised to see his best friend glaring daggers at him, "you have the worst timing; dude."

Placing a hand on his chest Kendall was breathing slowly trying to calm down his rapid beating heart. He looked at his hand and felt small pricks on his knuckles where James's lips touched, there was no way a guy could be that attractive amazing. He looked around and noticed that the hallway he was in was a bit bare except for a few paintings, but there were less than the others.

He started to walk keeping an eye out for the brunette or anything that would seem familiar to know where he was. Looking around he noticed how empty it felt like no one had used this hallway in years. He saw a dark brown door in the end and twisted the gold knob, he had a bit of difficulty before pulling it open, his eyes widened at the size of the living room. The ceiling and walls were light yellow with a brown tile floor and there was a large couch with a large flat screen TV hanging on the wall. There were chairs and other sofas scattered and a dark brown coffee table in the middle. He noticed a few movies scattered across the table, a blanket on the sofa and a door a few feet from the TV and figured out it's a kitchen when he saw the side of a refrigerator and kitchen utensils used for cooking.

"Logan!"

Wide eyed he turned to see a dark skinned boy about his age who had a similar expression when he saw the blonde standing in front of the door, he was wearing a gray shirt with blue jeans and black vans.

"Uh…Hi?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: For information about this story please look at my profile after you read this chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Wish Come True **

It was an hour after he had one of his classes online and spent the rest of his time watching movies with Sapphire. After his second movie he got bored and went to his room and started playing his guitar, when he tried to correct a mistake he made while playing a song Sapphire quickly hid under the covers on his bed. He strained his ear and heard the sound of a door closing.

Quickly putting back his guitar on his stand he ran to the hallway with a smile, "Logan!"

He froze when he saw a blonde teenager staring at him with a surprise expression. He had dirty blonde hair with bangs that covered his bushy eyebrows, but was a bit longer in the back of his head. His skin was light, but darker than Logan's with green emerald eyes; he looked about his age, and was wearing a green plaid shirt the cuffs reaching below his elbows, black skinny jeans, and black and white high tops.

"Uh…Hi?"

He blinked letting his mind process the stand stranger standing in a few feet away. He took a step back and swallowed nervously, "w-who are you?" he asked in a quiet voice that Kendall had to strain his ears to be able to hear.

The blonde noticed his frightful look and answered honestly, "my name is Kendall."

"How did you find this place?"

His brows were raised in confusion, "what?"

"How did you find this place? N-no one is supposed to know about this area of the mansion," he explained nervously. Logan taught him to never speak to strangers if one ever stumbled into his area, but Logan assured him that he won't let anyone come. He taught him of people who hurt others for no reason and that the outside world is sometimes dangerous and watched movies and documentaries of people killing others it, gave him nightmares for a week. Now there was a stranger in his area and all those lessons Logan taught him gone blank in his mind and he had no idea what to do.

"I got lost." He answered making Carlos interrupt his train of thought.

"Lost?"

He nodded, "yeah I went to the bathroom and when I came out I was alone."

"Oh," his expression changed and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Were you abandoned?"

Kendall shrugged, "it's kind of my fault for not sticking with the group?"

"Group?" he asked raiseing a confused brow.

"Yeah, the tour."

"Oh," he laughed nervously. "That changes things, sorry I was way off, you got separated from your tour guide?"

He nodded, "yeah and I don't know how long I've been walking trying to find my way out."

Carlos smiled, Kendall hasn't done anything wrong and he doesn't seem like a bad person. This is his first visitor and it would probably be normal to act a bit scared since he never met anybody else other than one of Logan's friends. "Sorry, I've been rude; I'm Carlos."

Kendall smiled and stuck out his hand, "nice to meet you."

His eyes widened at the gesture and slowly outstretched his arm shaking his hand. "I understand how you feel about meeting new people."

"You do?"

"Yeah, you don't know if that person is nice or not and is a total stranger to you it's normal to feel a bit scared 'cause you don't know them."

"That's exactly how I feel," he exclaimed with a grin and surprised Kendall by grabbing his arm dragging him to the couch. "Let's get to know each other."

"Uh…okay?" he was a bit unsure whether to trust him, but by the way he was acting he decided to give him a chance. He had the personality of a ten year old; he might not be so bad.

"Where should we start?"

Then again... "You never had a conversation with a person before?"

He shook his head, "well I have with my caretaker, but you're the third person that ever stepped foot here."

His eyes widened in shock, he seemed like a people person, a guy who could easily talk to anyone. Was he actually the third person he ever met? "Has there been other people that been here before?"

"None that I know of."

"That's…strange," he said slowly not wanting to upset him. "Don't you get lonely?"

"Sometimes," he said with a soft sad tone, but quickly smiled. "But I have things to keep me busy and I have Logan and Sapphire."

"Who?"

He gasped, "oh crap Sapphire! I completely forgot about her." He whistled surprising Kendall when he heard a chirp and a small blue bird landed on Carlos's lap. "This is Sapphire."

She fluttered her wings at him.

"Wow." Kendall gaped at the small blue bird with a smile.

"She says hi."

"You can understand her?"

He nodded and stroked her wing, "yeah she's a smart bird."

She chirped at his compliment.

"Do you have any pets?" he asked.

Kendall shook his head, "I wish, my mom won't let us no matter how much we annoy her."

"We?"

"My sister."

He smiled, "you're lucky to have one."

"She can be…a handful when she wants to be."

Sapphire suddenly flew to the hallway, Carlos's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed Kendall's wrist. For a moment Kendall thought he was going to hurt him and resisted. "What are you doing?"

"You have to hide," he said pulling on his arm.

"Why?" They both heard footsteps and with the strength Carlos never knew he had pulled Kendall to his feet and dragged him to the hallway. He opened a random door and pushed him in.

"Carlos what are you-,"

"Don't make a sound," he said sharply, cutting him off. "I'll explain later."

He closed the door leaving a dumbfounded Kendall inside. Carlos walked back to the living room to see Logan standing in front of the door. "Logan!" he said with a squeaked voice, surprised, "I thought you won't be back after tomorrow."

He smiled and pulled him into his arms surprising Carlos, "I came by to check on you." He winced as Logan tightened his hold on him; he never hugged him like this before except when he tried his first stunt.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered with a soft far away voice. "Everything's fine."

"Logan?" Carlos said in a worried tone. He'd never seen him act like this before unless something bothered him at work. He knew Logan will never talk about work with him saying that when he's here he is his normal self, the Logan who always joked and played with him. He has never seen him like this since his father died a few years ago and needed comfort.

He pulled back holding his shoulders with a firm grip, "sorry, I missed you."

"You saw me this morning," he chuckled softly.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, but Carlos got the feeling he said it more to himself than to him.

"About what?"

Logan shook his head, "nothing; nothing you need to worry about." He hugged him again and kissed his temple.

"I might come back in a few hours okay."

"That's great," Carlos grinned. He blushed when Logan gave him another kiss and turned to the door and opened it.

"Before I go," Logan said giving him a side-glance, Carlos frowned and felt a shiver go down his spine when he noticed his expression darkened. "Did you hear some strange noises?"

He shook his head, "no, why?"

"No reason," he stepped out and closed the door listening to a faint click.

He sighed and his shoulders slumped in relief, it felt a lot different keeping Kendall a secret than Sapphire. If Logan found out about him who knew what would happen, the last time Logan gave him that look was when he accused him of breaking one of his televisions.

"Who's he?" he turned to see Kendall stepping out of the doorway.

* * *

When Carlos pushed him in the room, he turned and his jaw dropped when he saw an entire wall stacked with video games. His eyes scanned the room to see a another flat screen TV hanging on the wall to his right, underneath was every gaming system he had ever seen or heard of including some he never saw before. There was a couch and a coffee table a few feet from the TV it had a few CDs and controllers piled on top of it. The carpet was light brown with light green colored walls including the ceiling, it appeared to be a game room Guitar Dude has, but this was way bigger and has more games than he could ever dream possible.

He heard voices cutting him off from admiring the room and walked to the door quietly turning the knob and peeked from the opening. Carlos was in the arms of a tall man who seemed to have a relieved expression on his face, he was a pale brunette with a business suit. When he spoke he felt as if he heard that voice before, but he never seen or met the adult. Pushing the thought in the back of his mind he watched and noticed how Carlos blushed when the man kissed his temple, he felt his knuckles tingle and slowly rubbed it trying to get rid of the feeling. This was not the time to think about how James's soft lips felt on his skin. When he saw Logan leave he noticed Carlos shoulder twitch and looked a bit frightened. He opened the door fully and stepped out when he heard a door open and close as the man left and saw Carlos looking relieved.

"Who's he?" he asked.

"My caretaker," he slumped on the sofa and laid his head back.

He raised a brow, "he doesn't seem like a caretaker."

"What do you mean?" he looked up and noticed Kendall's small amusing smile.

He shrugged, "it seemed like you guys are together."

Carlos blushed, "n-no, we're just friends."

"Not by the way he was holding you."

"Can we talk about something else?" he said quickly wanting to change the subject.

"You said you were going to explain why you grabbed and pushed me into a game room." He reminded him.

"Yeah about that," he rubbed his arm nervously. Kendall did deserve an explanation for what he did, it seemed fair. "That was Logan Mitchell."

"They guy who owns this mansion?"

"That's the one," he nodded."He doesn't want me to have anything to do with what's beyond that door." Kendall turned at the door he came in earlier.

"Why?"

"I really don't know, he tells me that it's for my safety most of the time."

"That's sad." He turned to him, "you've never been outside."

"No."

Kendall shook his head, "when does Logan come back?"

He shrugged, "he said he'll be back later although that could be hours."

"What about tomorrow?"

"He said he won't be here tomorrow for the entire day."

"Perfect," Kendall grinned and rubbed his hands together making Carlos nervous and look at him strangely.

"What?"

"I'm taking you outside tomorrow."

His jaw dropped when he processed what Kendall said. First he met a stranger, then he had to hide him from Logan, now it's going outside. This was too much for only two or three hours. However going outside for the first time in nine years, he felt his heart soaring in his chest, but remembered Logan and what he might do if he ever found out about it. "I-I can't."

He frowned and crossed his arms, "why not?"

"Because I don't know what to do outside!"

He scoffed, "that's a horrible excuse. Don't you ever wish to someday go and discover the unknown get to know what it's like to smell the fresh air or play in a park or go to the city?"

Carlos opened his mouth to object, but he couldn't say it. Every night before he goes to sleep he goes to his window to see the city, the stars, the garden below him, and imagines himself walking through them like everyone else. "I do," he said quietly. "I always wanted to, but Logan-"

"Forget Logan," Kendall interrupted. "He can't control your life. This is your opportunity to get out of here. "

He glared at him, "you don't know anything about him, he gave me a home to live and everything I need here."

He quirked an eyebrow, "are those your words or his?"

"I-wait, what do you mean?"

"You sound like you said that before," he said knowingly. "Like you're repeating it or memorized it."

He looked away. In a way Kendall was right the reason he doesn't want to go outside was because Logan kept telling him that there was no reason for him to so because he had everything he ever wanted or needed in his area. He's been hearing that answer for so many years it got stuck in his head. He really didn't have a reason for not wanting to go outside, looking back at Kendall he sighed, "you're not going to give up until I say yes are you?"

Kendall nodded and grinned, "I'll annoy until you do."

Biting his lip nervously he thought Logan will never know. He kept Sapphire secret for years a day outside won't hurt and it could be another secret from Logan just like his feelings for him. He looked back at Kendall; he was leaning forward in anticipation for his answer. If he agreed then he'll be able to have an entire day outside getting to know the city that he had been watching from his window. If he didn't Kendall won't leave until he agreed, he looked like a persisting teen and he will always ponder on the thought and might never get another opportunity like this and will probably regret it later. He'd been cooped up for too long it's about time he got what he always wished and dreamed for. A smile spread across his face making Kendall's grin widened, he turned to him and nodded, "okay I'm going outside with you."

He pumped his fist in the air victoriously. "Yes!"

"But," Kendall groaned. "We have to make a plan."

He looked up with a brightened expression. "Good point," he tapped his chin in thought. "What time do you wake up?"

"Around seven."

He shuddered, "ugh too early, but it'll do. It took me an hour to get here by car so it will probably take me two hours by bus."

"But how are you going to get in here?" he asked and pointed at the door again. "Logan always locks it whenever he leaves."

"Hmm," Kendall starting walking towards the door. He looked at him questioningly as he twisted the knob and the door opened. Carlos's jaw dropped, "locked huh?"

"I-b-but…ah…that…I've been trying to open that door for years," he got up and walked to him. Kendall took a step back and watched Carlos close the door he hesitated before opening it. He did this multiple times getting used to the fact that it was unlocked and stopped looking beyond the doorway. Scanning the long hallway everything looked the same from the last time he walked through it that night seven years ago. It was a bit bare, but the walls and carpet were the same color and there were only a few paintings on the walls. The only difference was that there weren't any flowers like before, the hallway looked like it hasn't aged in years still looking the same when he was nine. Minus the flowers.

"The lock is broken," Kendall said bringing Carlos from his thoughts. He looked to see him crouching eyeing the keyhole and turning the knob.

"For how long?" he wondered aloud.

He shrugged and noticed the way he was looking at the hallway like a person would look at an old picture remembering what it was like to live back then, "do you want a moment or…" he faltered feeling nervous as Carlos was deep in thought.

He turned around with a final glance at the hallway before closing the door. "Now that I know the door won't lock again," he said with a hint of doubt, not trying to get his hopes up. "What's next?"

"How to get in and out of the mansion," Kendall said walking to the couch.

Carlos snapped his fingers, "there's a secret entrance in the garden."

"What garden?"

"Come with me," Carlos walked to his room with a reluctant Kendall behind them. When they reached the end of the hall Carlos opened his door when Kendall looked inside he dropped his jaw.

"Dude!" Carlos laughed at his expression, "this is your room?"

"Yeah it is. You like it?"

"This is the size of my bedroom and my sister's combined," it had the regular furniture needed for a bedroom, except for shelves of books, a guitar, a large body mirror, a stereo with large speakers next to it, and a canopy bed. "Logan spoils you. No wonder he tells you not to go outside you have everything in here."

He chuckled dryly, "imagine having everything you want, but not having a life at all."

Kendall's smile disappeared. "Forget what I said," he said apologetically.

Carlos walked to his window before he touched the latch he slapped his forehead, "Sapphire! I completely forgot about her again, I'm a terrible owner." He whistled, a few moments later Kendall saw a blue flash and saw Sapphire land on Carlos's outstretched hand. "Sorry girl I got caught up on things."

He opened the latch and beckoned Kendall with a nod, when Kendall reached the window and looked out his breath hitched for the fourth time that day. It was beautiful, it was a sunny clear day giving them a great view of the city in the distance, the neighboring houses, and the small shops a few blocks from the mansion. Looking down he saw a beautiful garden with flowers in bloom, a water fountain reflecting the sun's rays with trees in the side and he could hear the faint noises of birds chirping. It looked like a beautiful rainbow, but instead of the sky it was on the ground. "Wow."

"That's what I say every time I look out the window," he leaned on the side of the window and pointed at the side of the garden where there was a large hedge. "Somewhere hidden in the hedge is a door, I don't know if it's there or not, but you can come through there tomorrow if you find it."

"How do you know there's a door?" he inquired as he narrowed his eyes to see the door, but it was well hidden.

"I went through there when I was a kid before Logan took me in."

"I saw this garden in the map," he reached into his pocket and grabbed it. He folded it open and showed Carlos the green area in the map that said Garden in bold cursive letters.

"Well what do you know?" Kendall said to himself when he looked at the map again.

"What?"

He tapped on the side of the building next to the garden, "according to this we are currently in restricted area no one is allowed here because this part of the building is so old they don't want people here to damage any of Mitchell's possessions." He said remembering that the tour guide mentioning about some areas of the mansion were off-limits.

"So that's how he kept people away from here," Carlos realized when Logan told him that he would make sure that no one would come to his home. "I can't believe he did this."

He patted his shoulder, "makes you wonder what else he did to keep you a secret."

"It does."

"Alright so how do we get out of this room and reach the garden?" he asked wanting to know how to accomplish their plan.

Carlos gratefully smiled at him for the change of subject this was no time to think about what Logan did for him. He pointed at the map, "okay so you know the hallway you took to get here you have to keep walking until you see a hallway to your left." He instructed while tracing the map with his finger, "you have to find a set of stairs that would take you to the first floor you're going to have to find your own way to the backdoor that reaches the garden."

He nodded, "great I just have to find my way to the stairs, find the backdoor then the hidden door, all without getting lost and or caught." He smiled at him, "sounds easy enough."

Carlos turned to him and nervously rubbed his arm, "you know you don't have to do this."

"I want to."

"But are you doing this because you feel sorry for me or because you feel like you need to help me?" As much as he want to go outside he didn't want to if it was because Kendall felt sorry for him. He would rather go for the fun of it instead of having to go because he felt he needed to, it wouldn't feel right.

Kendall shook his head, "I'm doing this for the heck of it, it's not every day that you sneak in and out of a mansion without the owner finding out." He grinned in excitement, "think about how fun it will be while were hanging out at the park, getting some ice cream, playing in an arcade, there are a bunch of possibilities."

Carlos smiled at the thought of doing all those things with a friend, he blinked he will be hanging out with a friend if he is one, "hanging out? Like friends?"

He nodded, "yeah like friends."

"That's…cool."

"It's not cool," Carlos frowned. "It's awesome!"

He laughed and looked out the window; tomorrow will be the day he goes out to the world. He can feel his heart beating in excitement, he can hardly wait for tomorrow. Kendall noticed his expression; he looked like a kid getting ready to get on a rollercoaster. It made him feel happy that he was giving him a chance to live after his caretaker refuses to take him outside, he will never understand why, but that didn't matter. As much as he wanted to stay and challenge Carlos in his game room he had to leave to find his way out and the door in the garden. He tapped his shoulder gaining his attention, "I got to go."

Carlos grin disappeared to a small smile and nodded to him understanding what he had to do to accomplish their plan, "I'll check on you from my window, Sapphire will signal you in case there's any trouble."

The blue bird chirped Kendall almost forgot she was in the room with them. He folded the map and placed in his pocket they both left his bedroom and reached the door. Kendall fiddled the knob until it opened making Carlos sigh in relief. "Be ready by ten or eleven. Wish me luck."

"Good luck." He gave him a reassuring smile and left with a wave. Once the door was closed Carlos quickly went back to his room and looked over the window hoping Kendall makes it to the garden. For once he had hope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Reassurance**

"James."

"….."

"Are you still mad at me?"

He nodded.

Logan sighed, "will you get over it?"

He shook his head.

"You only met him one time."

"So?" he furrowed his brows glaring at him. "You only saw Carlos one time and fell for him."

He clenched his fist underneath the table. They were currently in Logan's study room after spending hours in one of the mansion's larger study rooms having a conference with other businessman, when Logan found James he's been giving him the silent treatment and only spoke when he was addressed to. James was still upset that Logan ruined a moment when he met a blonde named Kendall who got separated from a tour guide and was lost. When James pointed the way he went Logan immediately left him making James angrier by ignoring him. Logan went to check on Carlos in case Kendall found him not wanting him to go anywhere near him, even though the door was locked it was better to be safe than soryy, after he talked to Carlos he left and leaned on a wall is sighing in relief.

He knew Carlos would be okay since he declared his area off limits so no one could see him, but he had to make sure to calm his mind. Ever since he first laid eyes on him he had to have him, there were no second thoughts or planning he had just went for it for once in his life without thinking and he never regretted it.

He never thought it was strange to fall in love with a nine year old, but when he saw the small latino boy seven years ago he felt a connection to the boy and felt a mix of emotions that he couldn't explain. He took him in and befriended him, whenever Carlos cried or felt sad he would hold him in his arms and offer him comfort and would always notice how perfectly they molded together.

When Carlos was happy he was ecstatic, he would play with, him talk to him, laugh with him, do everything he can with him. When he found out Carlos was bisexual he felt he had a chance for Carlos to fall in love with him, he noticed the blushes he had whenever he got too close or hugged him more than usual, and gave him kisses. Logan loved giving him kisses on the cheek, nose, forehead, or temple, it always gave him a faint tingly feeling on his lips.

When Carlos started asking him to go outside he did everything in his power to isolate him from the world so only he could be with him and not have any fear of losing him to another man or woman. He started lecturing him about how dangerous going outside was using fear to make Carlos want to stay inside more, but it only made him curios and started buying books, movies, video games, a guitar, anything to keep him busy so he won't think about leaving his home.

As years passed he felt even more in love as he grew from a cute child to a handsome teenager that he soon saw in his dreams having sex. At first he couldn't see him too afraid that Carlos will notice his erection and start to question him about it and was afraid that he liked women until he found about he was bi. He didn't want to scare him in case he goes too far showing his affection to the latino, he was content being friends as long as he sees him. Having him was better than claiming him…for now.

"That was different," he said after a moment of silence.

"You were thirteen!" He exclaimed. James was the only person other than his father who knew about Carlos for a few years after he stalked him when James asked why he kept disappearing. He found Carlos when Logan was about to enter a room, James surprised him when he pushed his way inside and found a boy sitting on a couch wearing a large black hockey helmet. Logan kicked James out, painfully, and explained who he was and why he kept him after he explained his feelings about him. For a week James kept making fun of him of him and Carlos marrying someday, he stopped when Logan threatened that he would tie James to a chair and make him watch his lucky comb getting destroyed.

Logan crossed his arms and looked at him in disbelief, "what makes you think he's the one?"

"I felt a spark," Logan raised a brow.

"That could be static from the carpet floor."

He shook his head, "it's not and when I looked into his eyes it was love at first sight, man they were the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen." He started talking about the blonde with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Are you planning on fucking him?" Logan knew of his sexual activities since James always brags about the hot guys or girls he gets with. James, like him, was bi, but he tends to be with guys more than girls. "If you do it will be too low even by your standards considering he's sixteen."

He glared at him, "no I actually want to get to know him. I want to know what he likes, what he hates, his hopes, his dreams, his-,"

"This is a first time I heard you speak about someone as a person other than your mom and you hate her," he said amazed at how dedicated he was to the blonde even though he met him for a short time. He had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, which was how he thought when he first saw Carlos. "It's fine as long as you don't do anything stupid, like you normally do," he muttered the last part to himself.

"Thank you Logan for your support," he replied sarcastically after he heard Logan speak.

"What are friends for?"

* * *

Kendall followed the map and walked through the hallway until he saw another hallway and made a left. He looked at the map again and saw a set of stairs, as he walked he made sure to keep track of his whereabouts not wanting to get lost, again. Fifteen minutes and many twists and turns through the hallways later he finally found a set of stairs. He took cautious steps making sure that he didn't make a sound and to keep an eye out for people. A part of him hoped to see James again, but he knew that he probably never will and it was a one-time thing. He smiled when he reached the first floor; with a look at his map he found a path that lead straight to the backyard. Putting away his map he walked until he saw two doors that revealed the garden, twisting the handle he stepped out and his eyes widened at the site before him.

The garden was better at ground level the air was filled with the sweet aroma of flowers, the sound of the water flowing in the fountain was louder giving a calm atmosphere and so were the noises of the birds chirping. He yelped in surprise and took a step back, when a blue bird suddenly appeared in front of him, upon closer inspection he recognized the chirp and the pattern of flight from it, "Sapphire?"

She chirped again and landed on his shoulder; he noticed how the sun rays reflected on her wings and body making her glow under its light, "now I know why your name is Sapphire."

She gave him a gentle peck on his cheek and flew off he followed her with his and eyes and looked up to see her landing on a windowsill. He smiled when he saw Carlos waving at him with a smile of his own. He waved back and saw him pointing at the large hedge. He nodded in understanding and walked towards it, he crouched and noticed that there was a thin fence holding the leaves together to hold the hedge. He got up and walked forward keeping an eye on the fence until it disappeared and saw a dark brown color in its place. Placing a hand on it and touched the surface it felt hard and cool beneath his palm, it was wood.

He grazed his hand on the wood ignoring the scrapes of small twigs and thorns pinching his skin until he felt a cool metal touch. Grabbing it he twisted it finding it difficult to open until he fiddled with it until he heard a crack and pulled it seeing a thin opening leading to a street with parked cars, he looked up to Carlos and gave him a wave again. He waved back and saw Sapphire's wings flutter probably meaning a goodbye or a see you later. With a grunt he opened the door slightly and peeked out making sure there was no one near him he stepped out leaving the door a bit open and made sure that it was still hidden by the hedge's leaves. He looked up and saw a shop at the end of the block, he smiled at his accomplishment and took out his phone and walked there hoping Guitar Dude will answer his call.

* * *

The blue bird was chirping and flying around the room wildly while Carlos was screaming in joy while jumping on the bed wishing for time to move faster so it could be the next day. He was going outside tomorrow. Finally, after years of staring out the window dreaming of going to the city it will become a reality and hang out with a friend. He didn't notice Sapphire fly to his opened closet or Logan leaning on the doorway with a smile on his face until he heard his voice.

"Someone looks happy." He suddenly stopped jumping on the bed and turned to see Logan leaning his shoulder against the doorway.

"Logan!" he jumped off the bed and walked to him. "You're back."

He nodded, "yup, did you do something while I was gone?"

"Uh…I was able to beat four of your high scores in some of the video games." He said quickly making up an excuse for his excitement.

"What!" His eyes widened in shock. "It took me weeks to beat yours."

He shrugged, "that's what happens when you have nothing else to do here."

"You do know this means that I have to get back at you right?"

Logan saw a flash of gray and a shout from the hallway, "not if you catch me first!"

He grinned and ran out of the room, he saw Carlos run into the kitchen and went after him. For forty-five minutes Logan chased after the Latino all over his home, there was the occasion throws of pillows and soft objects, there were also some close calls, but Carlos always moved or threw something at him before Logan was able to grab him. With a grin Logan hid behind his bedroom door and when Carlos arrived he threw himself at him, he squealed and laughed as Logan tickled his abdomen and they landed on the bed. They laughed and smiled at each other, "I win."

Carlos pouted, but it soon disappeared when he noticed the position they were in. Logan was on top of him their chests touching so close that there wasn't any space left between them, looking up he saw his laughter slowly died down. He felt his breath on top of his lips, they were so close all he needed to do was lean forward and they will be pressed up against his. Logan saw Carlos's pout disappear into a flustered expression his cheeks tinted red and noticed why, his body was on top of his. His lips were right there inviting him to touch them with his, he looked at Carlos and soon his thoughts drifted to him shirtless, sweating and panting saying his name over and over again as he…there was a beeping sound bringing Logan back to reality. He reached towards his pocket and took out his cell phone flipping it open and pressed a button silencing it.

He looked back down at Carlos and saw a sad look in his eyes, he didn't know if it was because he didn't try to kiss him or because he was leaving. Leaning down he pressed his lips on the tip of his nose, "I'll see you the day after tomorrow, okay."

Carlos nodded, "goodnight."

"Sweet dreams," he kissed his nose again and got up leaving the room and Carlos's area.

After he closed and locked the door he leaned back against it and took a deep breath rubbing his face. He wanted to kiss his lips so badly he didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated with his phone for the interruption. When he took a step he hissed and looked down to see a large bulge on his pants, he groaned and quickly ran to the nearest bedroom. Quickly closing the door behind him he immediately palmed himself groaning at the touch and started to move his hand rapidly.

He walked to the bed and fell on his back, he unzipped his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers, releasing his hard member. He hissed as the cool air hit his cock, he gripped it and closed his eyes imagining Carlos stroking it. His thumb slid across his slit smearing the pre cum that was dripping from the head. He groaned at the thought of a naked Carlos covered in a thin sheet of sweat his eyes half lidded in lust and want, his chest heaving for breathes and imagining how it will feel like being inside him. Stroking his member roughly he thought how tight and warm he is and how Carlos moans will turn into screams of pleasure as he thrusts into him saying his name over and over again like a broken record. Logan felt a familiar heat pool above his groin and his breathing came rapidly and ragged, he gasped as he came on his hand and abdomen. He lay on the bed as he slowly came from his orgasm and got up deciding to sleep in the room and head to the bathroom to shower and change for bed.

* * *

Kendall found Guitar Dude outside of the mansion with a cell phone in his hand, when he looked up he had a smile when he saw the blonde walking to him.

"Dude!" he placed a hand on his shoulder giving him a playful shove. "Where the hell were you I tried calling you after you went missing."

"I got lost."

"Well the tour ended you want to go get a bite to eat or something," he pointed to the shops that were a few blocks away.

He nodded, "yeah I'm starving."

They both started walking to the gates leaving the mansion, "so what happened?" Guitar Dude asked in curiosity.

He shrugged, "went to the bathroom and when I came out you and the group were gone."

"Steve got pissed multiple times he finished the tour early," they chuckled. "I think he's gonna complain or quit."

"Maybe."

"Find anything interesting?"

He mind switched to meeting James and Carlos and reminded himself of tomorrow's plans of getting him to know the city. He had to bring some money for himself and Carlos to eat and bus fare. Deciding not to tell about his encounters he shrugged and in a casual voice said, "nothing special just hallways."

"Seriously?" he said surprised, "nothing special?"

He shook his head, "nothing."

"That sucks."

For the rest of the afternoon they were at a restaurant and ate and talked until Guitar Dude's phone rang ending their meal when his dad called to tell them that his meeting ended and it was time to go. During his ride back home he thought about the last few hours and felt excited about tomorrow and was thinking about planning where to go or if Carlos had any place in mind he wants to go. His thoughts changed from Carlos to the brunette he met, he felt a light blush on his cheeks as he remembered how he smiled and how he kissed his hand like a gentle man. James was his final thought as he fell asleep in the car; holding the same hand James kissed close to his heart.

* * *

James was allowed to stay in one of the guest rooms since he and Logan are going to be busy tomorrow with a meeting with other businessmen and employees in their company about finances and the regular boring stuff then go to a charity event. Right now James was twisting and turning in bed trying to go to sleep, but he couldn't as a green eyed blonde teenager kept haunting his mind. He hoped to find Kendall after the meeting, but by the time it ended the tours were over and most of the tourists left and according to the maids and workers of the mansion there were no people missing. Since the mansion is so large tourists tend to linger away from the group or get lost and there are workers to help them get back to their group or the entrance of the mansion.

After a last attempt of trying to get some sleep he groaned and lifted the covers. He went to a small dark wood desk and sat in front of it turning on his lap top, he went to the internet and typed Kendall's name hoping to find anything about him. It would have bothered him if he was looking for a stranger in the internet, but he had to because when he met Kendall…he felt a shock of electricity in his body when he touched him and was sure Kendall felt it too. He doesn't really believe in love at first sight or you know it when you feel it, but after meeting him those were the first things that popped into his mind and couldn't get him out of his head and had a difficult time thinking during the meeting. He wasn't like the random people he got with for a one night stand, he was sweet and he could tell that he cares about people and was a bit fit when he noticed his toned arms. The most amazing thing about him were his eyes, when he smiled they would brighten, when he blushed they will glow, when he was shy they will shimmer.

He shook his head trying not to drown from his thoughts about Kendall and was surprised to see a few links. Clicking on the first one it was a news letter showing Kendall smiling and another teenage boy holding a trophy both wearing a jersey and holding a hockey stick in their other hand. Reading the article he found out Kendall was co-captain of a hockey team in a high school in the city and it wasn't the first time Kendall won a trophy. According to the article he started playing hockey when he was a kid and played it ever since joining a hockey team in middle school and high school. He played in countless of games from other schools and won second place twice and first place once in the state championships.

James went to the school website, Palmwoods High, and found a picture of the entire hockey team and found Kendall in the middle. He went to a part of the website where the students of the school have their own profiles, he immediately found Kendall's and found out he likes the color green, he loves pink smoothies, his favorite clothing are plaid shirts, his favorite sport is hockey, and he likes to draw. James jaw dropped when he saw a picture of Kendall standing next to a portrait of a mountains and a forest that he apparently drew. He chuckled when he found a picture of Kendall and the captain being tackled by their team after winning a game. Skimming through the internet he fell for the blonde even more as he found out more about him, his interests, his dislikes, where he lives and found out where the school is. While he was looking through some of Kendall's drawings he yawned and found himself trying to stay awake.

He looked at the time at the lower right corner of his laptop and found out it was nearly two in the morning after looking at one more picture of Kendall he left the internet and turned off his laptop. With another yawn he got up from his seat and walked to the bed he closed his eyes when his head hit the pillow his last thought was of Kendall smiling and his green emerald eyes before he fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Leaving the Nest **

Carlos woke up before Sapphire tapped his window eager for today's trip to the city. He immediately got up and showered then dressed wearing a gray hoodie with mid elbow orange sleeves with dark blue jeans, and black vans. After changing he opened his window and smiled when he saw the small blue bird chirping and flying around the room.

"Isn't this a great day," Carlos said earning an amount of loud chirpings. A few moments later Sapphire stopped flying and perched on his shoulder. They went to the kitchen for some breakfast and Sapphire immediately flew to the countertop pointing at the cabinets. Carlos snapped his fingers in understanding and went to the microwave to check the time, he groaned in annoyance he has to wait three hours for Kendall. Hitting his head on the microwave he wished time would move faster so he could go to the city.

Chirping noises made him freeze before he hit his head again, turning he saw Sapphire tap her claw on the countertop and lowered her head a bit. He smiled, "I have to be patient."

She fluttered her wings in agreement.

"I've waited seven years to go outside," he opened the cabinet and got a bag of mix dried berries. "I can wait a few more hours."

She fluttered her wings and chirped again in encouragement while he got his juice box.

Placing them on the countertop he went to the freezer and grabbed two frozen waffles putting them in the oven next to the microwave. While the waffles were being heated he grabbed a plate and a small bowl and poured the mixed berries then placed it on the table near his plate. When the waffles were done he quickly grabbed them placing them onto the plate and poured syrup. He ate while thinking what he'll do with Kendall, he always wanted to go to an arcade like in the Chuck E Cheese commercials. Go to a park and get on the swings like he used to do when he was a kid, maybe go to a library and see the amount of books they had, go get some ice cream or a corn dog from vendors or in a shop. There were endless possibilities he wanted to do, but he had to consider what Kendall might want to show him since he knows his way around the city.

Only knowing Kendall for a short while he already knew that he was like him in wanting to try new things, discover the unknown, and get to know places that they never been to before. He had the same gleam in his eyes whenever he looked out the window. For a moment he wondered if there was a local garden or some place that had a lot of flowers and a fountain like the garden that was below him in the city he could visit.

However there probably wasn't a garden better than Logan's in the state. There was a reason his mansion was one of the top ten locations to visit in the mid west. He frowned at the thought of Logan making his area restricted to people when they visit. Looking at his last half eaten waffle he contemplated why Logan would have people away from him. Normally whenever he thought about it his answer will be that it was for his safety. But that was Logan's answer, now that he was thinking about it he wondered why Logan really did it, if it was for his safety then he would have left the door locked. There had to be more to it, a memory popped in his mind when he thought about the last time he asked to go outside.

….

"Logan," Carlos asked looking away from the movie he was watching while the commercials were on. "When can I go outside?"

He sighed, "we've been over this Carlos."

"I know," he rubbed his arm nervously. "But you can be with me a-and I just want to go to the garden, the flowers look wonderful now that it's spring."

"What did I told you about going outside?" he asked ignoring what Carlos said.

"It's dangerous because there are bad people out there that will hurt others for no reason." He said with an automatic voice like a robot.

"And?"

"Accidents happen all the time and we can never predict what's going to happen, we could get hurt a little bit or worse," he finished his sentence with a quiet voice.

Logan kissed his temple resulting a blushing latino, "I know how much you want to go outside, but it's because I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're a doctor!"

He nodded, "I am, but I also need take to care of you."

"I know, but-,"

"Movie's back," Logan said when the commercials were over. Carlos sighed and turned back to the TV feeling an arm around his waist he was pulled to Logan's side. He situated himself comfortably and smiled with a light blush returning to the movie forgetting about the conversation that happened moments ago.

…

Carlos remembered that the next day Logan surprised him by getting a box of comic books and kept himself busy for weeks reading every single one of them and games that took him months to pass, levels that were difficult in every new game keeping him occupied. The last time he asked to go outside was three years ago and realized that Logan never brought up the subject. Carlos never thought of it because he was too busy using the things he bought him.

He heard chirping noises and turned to see Sapphire rubbing her head on his hand bringing him back from his thoughts. Looking at the time he found out that an hour and a half passed by, he blinked and did a double take on the time. He didn't realize that he was thinking that long, "I'm fine Sapphire," he stroked her wing earning a quiet chirp. "I'm fine."

Turning to his uneaten breakfast he got up and threw it away and placed the dish and the small empty bowl in the sink. With a sigh he turned leaving the kitchen with a quiet Sapphire on his shoulder, noticing her friend's gloomy mood she flew ahead and tapped on the window. Carlos quickly turned the latch as the bird clawed the glass. The minute he pulled it open the blue bird flapped its wings and made circles making loud chirp noises and pointed at the city looking at the distance he looked at the tall buildings he would soon be, bringing a smile to his face. This wasn't a time to be upset or sad, he was going outside today and Logan wasn't here to stop him, he'll soon be with Kendall walking in the streets of a city like a normal teen.

The blue bird landed on the window sill and looked up at Carlos. "Gracias Sapphire, I needed that."

She fluttered her wings and chirped in accomplishment at changing her friend's mood.

Turning around Carlos looked at the clock on his nightstand and noticed that he had two hours until Kendall gets here. He glanced at the guitar in the corner of his room his earlier thoughts were creeping slowly into his mind, but he quickly shoved them away as he grabbed it and his music book and sat on his bed to kill some time.

Turning to Sapphire he asked, "any requests?"

She chirped and tapped the window sill four times.

"La Bamba?"

She nodded.

"Okay."

He cleared his throat and with the tip of his fingers started to play one of his mom's favorite songs. He remembered hearing her voice singing La Bamba before he went to bed when he woke up from nightmares he smiled at the memory and started to sing.

* * *

A blaring loud beeping noise woke Kendall abruptly causing him to fall off his bed with a loud thud on the floor. He groaned and untangled himself from his covers and reached for his phone to turn off his alarm. His eyes narrowed at the bright light his phone emitted and scrunched his nose in distaste, it was six in the morning. It will take him forty five minutes to get ready and fifteen to get to the bus then another two or three hours (depending on traffic) for him to get to the mansion and an hour to get in and find his way to Carlos's area. He got up and placed his disheveled covers on his bed and went to the bathroom to shower. After he was scrubbed clean he changed into a blue plaid shirt with black lose skinny jeans and black and white checkered vans.

He left his room and went downstairs to the kitchen for a quick breakfast, he jumped back in surprise when he turned on the lights to see his little sister standing in the middle of the kitchen in a light blue robe, crossed arms, and shooting daggers at him. She was six years younger than him, but has a mind of an adult. This is one of those moments where she looks like her age. She had pink pajamas and yellow fluffy slippers courtesy of their mom. Her hair was light brown and was short only reaching Kendall's abdomen. She had brown eyes the same as their mom's and light skin.

"Katie what are you-,"

"Your stupid alarm woke me up," she said after she yawned.

"Then go back to bed."

"I can't and you know that," she growled angrily.

Katie developed a habit that she despised, once she wakes up she can't go back to sleep no matter what she tries and the young Knight is grouchy and moody if she doesn't get her full eight hours of sleep. Her family made sure to lower the volume of their alarms or use another way to wake up without her knowing it, a well slept Katie is better than a cranky one.

"Sorry little sis," Kendall said going to the fridge to get some milk.

"You do know this means I'm going to get my revenge right?"

He nodded, "yeah, but not today I got stuff to do."

She raised a brow and took a seat on their small white dining table. "You have stuff to do at six in the fucking morning?"

"Language."

She rolled her eyes and watched him grab the box of cereal and poured it on the bowl along with milk. "You never answered my question."

He took a bite of his cereal and swallowed, "I'm seeing a friend."

"You have to do that at six in the morning?"

He shook his head, "no, he lives far."

"He?"

Katie knew that Kendall liked guys before he did. She would make fun of him on whether the guy he had a crush on was cute and criticize his taste or asks when he will find a guy and do _it_ so she could use it to her knowledge and use it against him. So far there weren't any guys he was interested much to her dismay.

"He's a friend," Kendall said quickly already knowing what she was thinking.

She shrugged, "alright then why doesn't he come here?"

Kendall looked down at his cereal avoiding her eyes and she leaned forward already knowing that something was up, "he's not allowed."

"So you're Romeo?"

"No! He's a friend and his caretaker doesn't let him go outside," he said deciding to tell her the truth. "I'm the third person he ever met."

"How can you be the third person he ever met? That doesn't make any sense," Katie said, both interested and curios about his friend.

He shrugged, "Don't know, but his caretaker is really overprotective. He locks the only way out of his mini apartment.

"That's creepy."

He nodded in agreement, "so how did you meet him?" she asked.

"He lives in the mansion I went yesterday with Guitar Dude. I got lost found a door opened it and found him." He said giving her a little summary of yesterday's events leaving out the part about James.

"Why am I not surprised?" She laid her chin on her hand her elbow resting on the table.

He shrugged and continued his story, "I found him we talked and we came up with a plan to get him out of the mansion and go to the city."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Wait so if…uh…what's his name?"

"Carlos."

"So if Carlos's caretaker doesn't let him outside and the door to his…uh…"

"He sort of lives in his own apartment, it's his little area in the mansion," Kendall commented.

"To his apartment," she continued. "Then how did you get in?"

"The lock was broken, I didn't know until he told me his caretaker always locks it before he leaves."

"The word overprotective is an understatement for his caretaker."

He smiled at her and gave a glance to the clock hanging on the wall above the refrigerator. His eyes widened when he saw it was nearly seven in the morning, quickly putting the bowl in the sink he went to the bathroom brushed his teeth and grabbed his keys, money, and his phone.

He gave Katie a kiss on her forehead, "see you later and tell mom I'm doing a project at a friend's house."

"You owe me." She said as she watched him walk to the door.

He opened and gave her a smile, "I know." He left and walked four blocks until he reaches a bus stop and wait until his ride came making a list of places to visit.

* * *

Kendall smiled when he looked at his phone, he was making great time when he reached the mansion. After he got off the bus from his neighborhood he went to the central bus station and spent two hours on another bus playing music on his phone with his headphones looking at the familiar scenery in the freeway. Thankfully there wasn't any bad traffic so he arrived at his destination early and walked the rest of the way to the mansion. He walked around the estate taking time to look around making sure there weren't any people or tourists around as he reached the hedge.

Narrowing his eyes he looked at the shrubbery looking for the door. He made sure to leave it a bit open as if looking it had a bump. He found the door when he saw the unevenness of its surface and crouched. He did the same thing as yesterday smoothing his hands on the hard wood until he felt something cool and found the knob. He pushed using his shoulder until there was a opening big enough for him to go through he stepped inside and quickly pushed the door back leaving it a bit open for easier access.

He crouched again and hid behind some bushes, looking around the garden looked the same as yesterday except for the sun that wasn't fully high in the sky yet. He looked up to see Carlos's window to see it closed. He kept hiding behind bushes until he reached the double glass door and quietly turned the knob opening it and closing it making sure it won't make a sound. Cautiously he walked down the hallway until he reached the same stairs from yesterday. Climbing them up he walked the same hallways he did yesterday using his memory to know where he was going, he also peeked the hallway before walking through them making sure that there weren't any workers. In the back of his mind he hoped to find the brunette he met yesterday, but didn't get his hopes too high since he probably won't ever see him again. Fifteen minutes later he arrived at his destination when he saw the familiar bare hallway and the only door at the end of it. He walked to it and knocked hoping it didn't alert any nearby workers and Carlos was able to hear.

* * *

After singing and playing his guitar for nearly an hour Carlos went back to the living room with Sapphire to watch a movie he already watched waiting for Kendall. While watching he wondered if he still remembered his way to his area and hoped he didn't get caught by the workers or worse by Logan. He knew Logan was gone the entire day, but didn't know if he still resided in the mansion for any work or meetings. Before he let his fears and nerves overcome him he heard a knock.

Startled Sapphire spread her wings, but hesitated if she should fly or not, she was never taught in what to do if there was a knock on his door.

Looking at the door curiously he got up and walked toward it, he knocked back not sure if he should open it or not. He should if it was Kendall, but what if it was another stranger, he quickly stepped back when the door opened revealing Kendall with a smile on his face.

"When someone knocks you normally open the door," Kendall said as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "So are you ready to go?"

Carlos stayed silent, staring at Kendall with a neutral expression making him raise a bushy brow at him. "Hey are you-oh!"

Carlos tackled him with a hug surprising the blonde, "you came."

"Of course I did I never break a promise," Kendall said returning his hug.

He took a step back and smiled sheepishly, "sorry I got carried away."

"It's okay I would too if I was going outside for the first time. So are you ready?"

He nodded, "yeah I am, come on Sapphire."

The blue bird chirped and flew to his shoulder and gave a small wave of her wing at Kendall. He smiled, "alright let's go."

Kendall opened the door taking a few steps out of his area, before Carlos did the same. He grabbed the knob and pulled it closing the door he watched for years barricaded him from the outside. Turning back to Kendall he smiled and followed him heading towards the unknown.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: A Whole New World (Part 1)**

Kendall always gave Carlos a nod when the hallways were clear to continue walking. They kept walking for what seemed like hours wondering if they'll ever get out of this maze. He was about to speak when they came across a staircase, he remembered going up these steps with Logan when he was nine. When they reached the bottom they walked through a large hallway that was eloquently decorated with a long scarlet rug, portraits, small bouquets lain upon tables and small chandeliers in a straight line hanging from the ceiling.

Carlos stopped when they reached the double glass doors, Kendall looked around before he gave him a nod and walked to them. He was about to reach for the knob before he turned and smiled at him, "you wanna do the honors?"

He gulped nervously before he grabbed it, the same knob he couldn't reach when he saw his dad walk away from his life, and slowly gave an experimenting turn until he heard a click and opened it feeling a light breeze as it came through the opening and let go pushing it until it was wide open. He stepped out and heard a chirp to his right to see Sapphire flying in circles and chirping loudly while looking at him. It was a lot more beautiful on ground level than from his window, the flowers were arranged beautifully by color circling the bronze fountain, that gave off the sound of running water and chirps of other birds from the trees with a stone bench underneath them at the edge of the garden. There were bushes and painted vases in random places and a small corner where there were two or three small round tables. There was also a statue of a woman with a bird in her palm of her hand near the entrance, it was probably new because he didn't see it there when he was young or didn't notice it before.

He looked up to see the clear blue sky and felt the morning sun's warm ray hit his skin giving him warmth. Kendall smiled when he stood there basking in the garden smelling that fresh air and feeling the warmth, it was a good thing it was going to be sunny the entire day since it's nearly summer. He tapped his shoulder gaining his attention, "come on we have to go to the bus station to catch a ride early to the city."

He smiled at the thought of being in the bus for the first time, Logan told him it was nothing special only sitting on a seat for hours doing nothing, but look outside the window. If he could argue with him it will be the total opposite, he followed Kendall going behind the bushes until Kendall stopped in front of the shrubbery. Carlos looked at him strangely, but dropped when Kendall started pulling what seemed like a door. He realized it was the same door he entered before he came here.

Kendall peeked out from the opening and quickly slid through, Carlos did the same and stood up turning around looking at the different parked cars on the street while Kendall was closing the door leaving a bit of it open so he could find it again.

"Come on," Kendall said, "we have to make it to the city at least at one in the afternoon so we could spend the rest of the day doing whatever we want."

He nodded and followed Kendall looking outside at the mansion while they walked. It looked exactly the same online as it was in real life. Since he wasn't allowed to go outside he wondered where he lived and did research on the mansion online. Logan also told him the history of the mansion that had to deal with secrets and love, and a bunch of stuff that made him wanting to hear more. When they got to the shops, Kendall had to hold his wrist to keep moving because Carlos kept stopping to look inside the shops and smile and awe at the merchandise they had.

Carlos could always ask Logan whatever he wanted and he would get it, but was mesmerized at the sights and the world around him that he was unable to experience before. Watching buildings of different sizes and color, the people from different cultures coming to see the sights, it was amazing. When they reached the small bus station, Kendall looked at the schedule and the prices doing the math in his head and calculating when it would be the best time for Carlos to come back home. "Okay so if we get the bus in fifteen minutes we'll make it in to the city and I have enough money for the both of us-,"

"Will this help?" Carlos took out a thick roll of money from his pocket, making Kendall's jaw drop at the sight and quickly grabbed his arm pulling him close hoping that no one saw the cash he held.

"How much is that?"

He shrugged, "maybe ten thousand dollars."

_Ten thousand dollars_! Kendall had to bite his lower lip to keep himself from yelling at the amount he had. "How did you get it?"

"Logan used this to help me with my math and statistic homework." Carlos said oblivious to Kendall's bewilderment, "do you think it's enough?"

"Yeah," Kendall said slowly, still in awe, "that's enough. Carlos you have to take care of it, I don't want you getting mugged. Put some in different pockets or something; make sure that it won't be noticeable, okay?"

He nodded, "alright. So how much is it?"

After paying for their tickets they made it in time to board the bus heading to the city that Carlos had been watching from his window for the past nine years.

* * *

"So you got that money because you needed help with your homework?"

Carlos nodded, "yeah, he said that it will be a great for me to learn how to use money so I could use it wisely."

"Homework?"

"Yeah and tutoring too, I suck at math, and english, and science and mostly every subject in school…"

Kendall shook his head, "I don't believe it."

They had been in the bus for nearly an hour trying not to get bored by talking to each other. Kendall had a lot of questions of how he lived in his area for so many years and how he kept himself occupied. While Carlos asked how it was like to live with his mom and sister along with school and what he does to earn money. He found out that Kendall worked at a grocery store pushing carts and sometimes mowing the lawn or if it was snowing shovel driveways.

"So how did you end up living with Logan?" Kendall asked. He had been meaning to ask that question for a while wondering how he ended up with in a mansion with an overprotective adult.

Carlos's smile disappeared to a frown and his shoulders slumped, for once, he turned away from the window where he was watching the scenery. "My dad abandoned me."

Kendall's face fell into one of understanding, Carlos continued, "I really don't remember much, Logan said that he left me there, I remembered there was a lot of crying, and a man with evil eyes."

"Evil eyes?"

"Logan's father."

Kendall felt a slight shiver go down his spine at the tone he used, as if his name was forbidden to be spoken out loud. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged and smiled a little, "it's okay Logan was with me so I was never alone and I had Sapphire too."

They both smiled at the thought of the small blue bird. They both talked about school, hobbies, and anything in particular to keep themselves from boredom. When the scenery changed from fields and houses to tall structures and endless people walking to their destinations Carlos turned and gaped at the thirty to fifty floor buildings touching the sky, small restaurants, a couple of museums, and more he saw from TV. Kendall had to restrain a laugh from Carlos's expression as he bounced in his seat when he saw the park. He already planned what he was going to do today along what Carlos wanted to do so they could have time today to be able to accomplish them.

Carlos nearly dashed out of the bus the minute it parked and opened its doors, luckily Kendall grabbed his wrist before he did and both walked out of the vehicle.

"Welcome to the city of Dayton." Kendall said as they started to walk through the streets.

Carlos took a moment for it all to sink in. He was finally in the city, the city he had watched for many years from his window.

Kendall stared at him with a grin as Carlos was beaming with joy, "so where do you want to go?"

"Huh?" Carlos stared at him for a moment before he processed the question. "Oh! Um I'm not sure there is so much I want to see."

Kendall nodded, "alright since you like video games how about the arcade?"

He gasped, "like Chuck E Cheese?"

"Almost, but it's inside the mall."

"A mall?" he slightly tilted his head, "what's that?"

"The mall it is." Kendall said as he started to walk. "Make sure to stay close, trust me you don't want to get lost here."

"You got lost?" he asked with a surprise tone.

"Yeah, it took me hours to find my way home."

"Where do you live?" he asked making Kendall raise a brow. "Sorry."

"It's alright, first day, you're bound to ask questions," he smiled. "I live in the outer city. I usually take the bus to go to school, it's close to the park and the mall."

He gasped, "can we go to the park?"

"If we have time."

As they walked to the mall Kendall explained what the things he was pointing at and what they do or are used for. He was a bit confused when Kendall grabbed him and ran past a Play Boy store he pointed at earlier. Carlos was about to ask what Play Boy was until his jaw dropped when they went inside a large building. The first thing he saw were a two floors of stores with people going in and out of them buying clothes, shoes, books, toys, and other merchandises. Kendall continued walking making sure that Carlos was following him as they past clothes and vendors trying to sell their products.

Carlos quickly kept up with Kendall when he heard the familiar sound of battle cries, numerous buttons being clicked, screams of triumphs, and the YOU LOSE! voices, he gasped when they were in front of an arcade, Game Arena in neon colors displayed at the entrance. It was dark inside except for the numerous colors from the rotating disco balls, and the screens of the game consoles, it was filled with noises of kids and teens trying to win the game they are currently playing. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Kendall with two cups in his hands one of them for him.

"Let's go, I've been dying to go against you." Kendall said as they went inside.

Carlos smirked as he took the sup filled with golden tokens, a look that surprised the blonde to see in the latino's face. "I have to warn you I have been playing for most of my life. So don't be upset if you lose."

"We'll see."

The first game they played was Terminator Salvation, after depositing their tokens they both grabbed their weapons and fired on the enemy both trying to out-match the other in how many enemies they can kill. Carlos won by killing twice the number of enemies they fired than Kendall.

Afterwards they played air hockey, Kendall was sure that he was going to beat Carlos until they were tied after fifteen minutes of playing. Carlos laughed when Kendall won resulting in a victory dance, he didn't care that he lost and decided to against him in another by playing another game, preferably racing.

They played against each or together by playing PAC-Man, a pinball machine, fighting the undead, assassins, motorcycle races, or skee ball, it was the most fun Carlos had playing games other than with Logan.

When Carlos's stomach growled he blushed while Kendall chuckled and called it a day much to his disappointment. He quickly cheered up when he turned in his tickets and got a medium sized water gun and striped green glasses, Kendall got a teddy bear for his sister and his own water gun. They both left with their prizes and headed straight to the food court.

"What kind of food do they have?"

"A lot."

To Carlos that was understatement, it was a large stadium of restaurants to him as he looked around to see the familiar fast food chains, such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Panda Express, Jack in the Box, and more. His eyes lit up when he saw a corndog; Kendall immediately knew what he wanted. They both got in line and talked about the different games they played and made a promise to play Call of Duty.

They both sat at an empty table, Carlos with his three corndogs and Sprite, and Kendall with three hotdogs and Coke. Kendall nearly choked on his food when Carlos finished telling his story when he tried to bungee jump out the window with a large elastic rubber band that Logan got for an experiment for his science class. Luckily Logan stopped him before he could do the stunt resulting in no television and video games for two weeks.

"He said I needed a long time to think about my actions before I do something stupid, in reality he gave me more time to think of stunts I can pull with my limited resources."

He shook his head with a chuckle, "I can believe you nearly jumped out your window."

"You should've seen Sapphire, the poor thing nearly got a heart attack when she realized what I was trying to do."

"If you think that was funny, wait until you hear about the time I nearly caused a black out in the county three years ago."

"When the power was going on and off all over the city? That was you?"

He nodded sheepishly. "Yeah I was trying to light my living area with Christmas lights for the holidays, ever since that incident Logan helps me put up the lights whenever the holidays are close."

"Man I wish I was there to see it."

"I'll let you know if I have another stunt, Sapphire will be happy she's not the only audience."

"Good, we'll freak out together and have the first aid kit ready."

They both laughed, "Kendall!"

The blonde turned to see Guitar Dude walking towards them.

Carlos instantly became nervous as he saw him, he had long hair reaching his shoulders, a dark blue t-shirt with regular jeans and black converse and a guitar strapped over his shoulder. "What's up dude?"

He smiled, "hanging with a friend of mine. Guitar Dude, this is Carlos."

Guitar Dude grinned and grabbed his guitar strumming the chords, "hey hey heeeeeey Carlos." He sung.

"Hi," he greeted nervously.

Putting his guitar over his shoulder he turned to Kendall, "a couple of us are heading to a party, you in? You could bring your friend if you want."

"Maybe another time, I have a lot of stuff to do today."

"That's cool, if you change your mind just text me."

"I will."

"Nice meeting you Carlos." He waved at them both before walking away.

"He smells weird." Carlos said when he was out of ear shot.

Kendall chuckled, "he probably got high earlier today."

"High?"

"Nothing, anyway what do you want to do next?"

* * *

**I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO VERY VERY SORRY! **

**I know that this chapter is long over due, I had another story I was working on and I got a huge writer's block on this chapter. By the way I don't play games so I got stuck in that part and haven't been in arcade in four years. Yes, I have no life. And I had to work on college applications ugh! I am very sorry I am planning to write chapters more frequently so this won't happen again, no promises, but I'll try. Thank you for reading and I hope I haven't lost anybody. **

**Sorry again for the wait. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: A Whole New World (Part 2) **

Carlos bit his lip in thought, he didn't want to think about going home so soon, but he had to be dependent on the time so he could get home before dark. He didn't want Logan to catch him, especially on his first day outside. Even though he might be gone for the entire day, Logan tends to make surprise visits or go to his room in the middle of the night to give him a goodnight kiss. He wanted to make sure he got home and not get in trouble. "Do we have enough time to do anything else?"

Kendall took out his phone and checked the time, it was ten to four, and the next bus to Carlos's home was at six. He cursed in his mind for not buying the tickets when they got off the bus earlier in the afternoon, they could have spent more time in the city. Now they had to get there thirty minutes before the bus leaves the station to be able to purchase the tickets on time. "We got an hour and fifteen before we head back to the station. We could head to the park or-,"

"The park!" Carlos exclaimed. "I want to go to the park."

"Alright," Kendall took their trash and threw it in the closest trash bin. They then grabbed their prizes and went to the nearest exit. The park was just a couple of blocks away from the mall so they could get there, without Carlos stopping every two minutes, they could get to the bus station on time.

Carlos told Kendall when he was a kid he used to have a slide and a monkey bar and a large playhouse. He will use his stuff animals and pretend that they were on adventures, saving princesses, defeating dragons, and bad guys like in the fairy tales. The monkey bars were used for his physical education, and for climbing castles and mountains while the playhouse was used to play House. Carlos would use his stuff animals like they were his family or children and Logan will be the 'mother' or 'wife' to his 'kids', before he had leave Carlos a lot for work. He also got fake grass for him and pretended he was sleeping outside underneath the stars, but was actually glow in the dark stickers Logan placed inside his bedroom.

As he got older Logan had to put most of his toys in storage because he got too big for them, and started playing video games and reading comics. He still had the monkey bars, but that was mainly used for P.E.

The latino smiled at the memories as he told Kendall, but the blonde felt upset. Carlos wasn't able to have a normal childhood and play with other kids his age, family, or any kind of parents. He felt a twinge of anger for letting Logan coop Carlos in the mansion in his large living area as a prisoner. No wonder the latino was so anxious to go outside.

Carlos knew they reached the park when he saw trees, parents walking with their children, mothers walking with strollers carrying their child, and people jogging and or running for their daily exercise. They crossed the street and started walking through the pathway, leading deeper into the trees, there were picnic tables, some empty, some occupied with couples, families celebrating an event together, or the elderly playing chess.

"I used to come here with my sister a lot when were kids," Kendall said when they reached a playground. It was filled with equipment he had seen in TV, the tall structure, in the middle of a giant sand box where some kids were playing in red and yellow monkey bars, blue and green slides. There were ladders, stairs, and swirl ladders next to the structure to climb, poles where children could go for quick getaways as they played Tag, and two different sets of swings. It was filled with children of all ages playing and laughing together as they enjoyed their games and their company, having the time of their life. "Come on."

Kendall continued walking making sure Carlos was close; the latino gave a final glance at the playground longingly before he followed Kendall towards a different path. The blonde explained how there will be performers and singers in the park, people selling cotton candy and ice cream, and games where the community can get together and enjoy the activities set up for them, like scavenger hunts. He also explained how during the holidays there will events both day and night, his favorite is when its Fourth of July there will be fireworks he can enjoy watching them with his family.

Carlos smiled, he told them that he and Logan will look out his window and watch the fireworks in the distance from different areas in the county. They would stay up late at night and eat popcorn enjoying the view.

Before Kendall was about to explain about egg hunts and haunted mazes, he stopped when he realized they were the only ones in the concrete pathway. Carlos nearly crashed into him making the latino give the blonde a questioned look, "what's wrong?"

Kendall narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, "it's quiet, too quiet."

Carlos looked around and noticed they were in a denser part of the park, the trees were thick and there were many large bushes, boulders, and stones scattered around them. He finally realized they were alone and Kendall had a scrutinizing gaze as his eyes looked over the area. Kendall heard a soft rustle to his left and turned to see a shaking branch that quickly stopped when he turned. He heard the familiar sound of sliding plastic and clicking noises making his eyes widened when he realized what they were in the middle of.

"Take cover!" He grabbed Carlos wrist and pulled him towards the nearest boulder and jumped over it crouching behind it. Carlos felt something fly by his cheek before he was roughly pulled by the blonde and was suddenly behind a boulder.

"What's going on?" Carlos asked frighteningly.

"Nerf War."

"What?"

They turned when they hears footsteps heading towards their direction, Carlos held his breathe while Kendall's arms tensed. He relaxed when he saw a familiar thirteen year old boy.

"Kendall," the boy greeted with a nod. "Good to see you buddy, nice of you to join us."

The young teen had orange hair, brown eyes, and freckles, with a blue headband on his forehead and a black vest with pickets covering his yellow shirt. He wore dark green khakis and black sneakers, he had black fingerless gloves and in his arms was a large orange and yellow recon Nerf gun.

"Tyler," Kendall greeted with a nod of his own.

"Come to play or came for a stroll?" he asked motioning his weapon.

"I forgot there was a game today."

"What's a Nerf War?"

They both turned to Carlos, his frightened expression turn to a curious one.

The gears in Kendall's mind started to twist and turn as an idea started to form.

"You don't know what a Nerf War is?" Tyler asked in amazement.

"I've heard of Nerf blasters, but never a Nerf War."

"Have you been hiding under a rock or something?"

A light blush crossed his cheeks, "you could say that."

"Do you want to play?" Kendall asked surprising Carlos and Tyler.

"Play? I don't kno-,"

"Tyler, how many players do you have?"

The young teen frowned in thought, "a couple of us are down for the count and some had to go home early. We have less than seven players compared to the enemy."

"How long is this war?"

"We're in the final round; we've got an hour, give or take a few minutes, before the game ends."

The blonde's formed a smile on his lips, "think you have enough ammo for two new players?"

A similar smile appeared on Tyler's features, "follow me."

They followed the young teen quietly and as low as possible not wanting to give off their location. Along the way Carlos noticed other kids and teens with Nerf guns both large and small and of different sizes with battle clothes and communicated in hand signals and through whistles and assortments of sounds. A few gave a smile or a wave toward Kendall, the blonde only gave them a nod when Tyler suddenly crouched and cocked his weapon, Carlos watched as he silently communicated with a another teen. He nodded to him and mouthed 'stay here' to them as he went to the boulders and peeked out, in a flash movements Tyler raised his weapon and fired multiple shots. He quickly went back down and turned back to the teen; he gave him a thumbs up and raised two fingers. With a triumphant smile and waved at the two older teens to follow him.

He stopped and looked around before he moved a few branches and revealed a faint dirt trail, Kendall stepped forward with Carlos behind him followed by Tyler. They followed the trail leading to a medium size clearing filled with a couple of kids and teens dressed for battle. Like Tyler some had or did not have black vests, but all of them had blue headbands, some wearing it on their wrists, arm, or tied it to a belt loop and dozens of different types of Nerf weapons.

Tyler lead them through the fray of players until they reached across the clearing where there was a concrete table filled with maps and plastic, rubber, ammunition, next to the table were gallons of water in blue containments, and a large white suitcase with a red cross labeled First Aid Kit. Behind the table were three older teens, two guys and, one girl, that seemed to be in a heated discussion. Tyler walked up to them and poked one in the shoulder, the teen turned to him with a frown on his features, "what is it Tyler, we're in the middle of a debate."

"I found some extra players sir," he said as if he was addressing to a general.

They all turned towards the newcomers, all of their faces brightened when their eyes landed on the blonde, "Kendall!" said the teen who questioned Tyler.

"Dylan," Kendall greeted with a smile of his own.

Dylan was the same height as Kendall; he had light skin, black spiky hair with a piercing in the corner of his left bottom lip. He had a black vest, but with three blue stars on his right breast above his heart on top of a dark green shirt, brown dirtied pants, and brown combat boots.

"Haven't seen you in a while, where have you been?" The teenage girl asked, she also wore a black vest with the same blue stars, but had a red shirt underneath the vest and was petite, she had elbow guards and didn't wear jeans, but black leggings with gray knee guards and had black converse. She also had a red streak in her hair and a bit of make-up and two black stripes on her right cheek. Carlos noticed she had a holster with a yellow and orange small Nerf pistol.

Kendall shrugged, "I've been busy working."

"Who's your friend?" The last teen was a bit shorter than Dylan, but was taller than the girl. He had blonde hair with black streaks, like the rest he had the same vest and three blue stars, but with a black muscle shirt and had guards on his elbows. He has blue jeans with small tears and black sneakers.

"This is Carlos," he placed a hand on the latino. "He's a friend of mine."

The girl smiled and stretched a hand toward him, "I'm Lucy, nice to meet you."

He gave out a smile and took her hand, "you too."

"Kyle," the shorter teen greeted with a shake of his hand.

"Dylan," he nodded as a hello, Carlos did the same.

"You think we can join in?" Kendall asked.

Dylan raised a brow, "we are currently tied with the Reds and are in the final round for the month, we lost many of our boys-,"

Lucy cleared her throat.

"_And _girls, you haven't played for half a year, now all of a sudden you do?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

They stared at each other in silence, Carlos was nervously staring at them biting his cheek hoping this doesn't turn for the worse, Dylan pointed at the bushes behind him."Grab a weapon Knight, time to make up for lost time."

"I will, under one condition," Kendall said making Dylan give him a look between a glare and a questioning expression. "My friend plays too."

"I don't-,"

"Sure!" Lucy said earning two bewildered teens.

"Lucy!" Kyle protested, "we don't know if-,"

"I said he can play," she growled, immediately shutting his mouth quickly and pale slightly making Carlos fidget where he stood.

"I totally agree with you," Dylan smirked. He motioned for the two to come behind the table, they did and he took out a key chain with he pressed a button on one of the keys and they heard a few beeps before he moved the bush and revealed the back end of a SUV. He opened the door, the minute Carlos laid his eyes inside his jaw dropped from the sight. In the car was every type of Nerf weapon ever manufactured, Kendall grabbed two small pistols and checked them if they were loaded before giving one to Carlos. He reluctantly took it and watched as the blonde took out a praxis Nerf gun with extra ammo.

"Good choice," Dylan commented.

Carlos looked around until he spotted a familiar Nerf long strike and grabbed it. He checked if it was loaded and found it empty he searched for extra bullets and found a pile of them next to a black belt. He placed it around his waist and expertly placed the ammunition in their place and locked everything making loud clicking noises as he expertly dealt with his weapon.

Kendall stared at him with a curious brow, "I thought you never dealt with Nerf before."

He smiled at him, "I have some Nerf weapons, but never been in a Nerf War."

"Then this is your lucky day," Dylan said, they turned and saw his arms stretched towards them, on each hand was a blue headband.

"Welcome to team Blue," he said to Carlos. The latino took it while Kendall took his and tied it around his forehead. Carlos decided to tie it in his forearm.

"You guys ready?"

Kendall smirked, "let's play." He answered before Carlos voiced

* * *

**I was able to update and write this chapter! Thank you those who are reading, reviewed, followed, or favorited this story.**

**I am still amazed people like this story. Anyway I have to say I am not an expert of Nerf guns, I don't have one (unfortunately) and never heard of a Nerf war. So I may suck at the types of blasters and pistols that are good or not. **

**But other than that I hope you stay along for the ride and I hope to have a chapter soon if I can for you guys.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Charging Into Battle**

Carlos had no idea he would end up in a Nerf War, he thought he was going to the park look at the scenery and if he was lucky play in a playground if he had time.

Now he is hiding behind a bush lying on his stomach on the ground with his weapon aimed at the other side of the concrete pathway, boulders, and trees where the enemies, the Reds, are hiding just like him.

He adjusted the belt around his waist again and turned to see Kendall a few feet away hiding behind a boulder. Kendall also turned and gave him an encouraging smile. Carlos swallowed and returned it before he quickly turned when he saw something move in the corner of his vision. He gave a scrutinizing look where he saw the movement; he could have sworn he saw, "I'm hit!"

He turned again to see another player, one of his own, with a hand on his arm where the plastic dart hit as he fell on his back. The player, a young boy, grimaced in pain as he turned on his side; Kendall went to the boy and placed a hand on his leg where the player was clutching it with his other hand.

Carlos noticed the movement again and this time saw a female player, she was beside a tree and had short black hair with a red bandana and a Nerf Alpha Trooper in her arm with a triumphant smile on her face. He noticed she moved her weapon and realized she was aiming at Kendall before placing her finger on the trigger. The latino swallowed nervously before he pressed his own trigger. He was surprised and relieved when he saw the girl give out a surprise yelp and fall with a familiar yellow dart on her abdomen.

As Kendall helped the young boy get back up, he turned and raised his praxis, when he heard the familiar sound of sliding plastic, but stopped when he heard a yelp. Two other players went over to Kendall and helped the boy as they each grabbed his arms and placed them over their shoulders. "Careful he's got a twisted ankle."

They nodded t him in understanding, one of the players gave Carlos a thumbs up while the other gave him a smile as they helped boy go through the thick trees towards the clearing.

Kendall crouched back down behind the boulder and mouthed a 'thanks' to Carlos. The latino smiled and turned back only to see a teenage boy aim at him, he gasped and quickly rolled to his right side taking his weapon with him. He felt the dart fly pass his arm, craning his neck he cursed under his breath when he noticed he wasn't behind any kind of shield, but out in the open. He lay completely still on the ground as he felt another dart pass by dangerously close to his cheekbone.

The blonde watched as Carlos rolled to his side and saw the darts pass before he prepared his weapon and took aim. He fired twice missing on purpose so he could grab the enemy's attention, he succeeded. "Move, Carlos!" he shouted.

The teenager's eyes widened when he the blonde screamed and turned to see his target get up and hide behind the nearest tree. He fired hoping to hit him, but he was off guard giving Kendall the opportunity to fire this time hitting him. The blonde quickly ducked down and saw the latino giving him a thankful grin.

The minute Carlos heard Kendall shout he moved without a second thought and went behind the nearest tree and saw the dart fly by hitting one of the branches. He turned and gave the blonde a thankful smile as he raised his long strike and took aim when he saw a Red move to another hiding spot. He didn't know how long he played, it felt like hours as he moved from one hiding spot to another, firing at the enemy, and having close calls from being hit. He immediately created a bond with the other players the minute they saw him with a blue bandana on his arm and when he helped others when he noticed they were being aimed by the Reds.

Kendall was happy when he saw the other players treating Carlos like an old friend, when it comes to Nerf Wars everyone's got their back being watched. That's why it was second on his list right next to hockey of his favorite hobbies. They were so into it the minute they heard the noise of a horn being blown Carlos held his long strike tighter his finger on the trigger ready to fire as he looked around in surprise and fright. Kendall stood up and lowered his praxis and walked to the latino placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" he asked as he watched other players standing up and lowering their weapons.

"Game over," Kendall said as he led Carlos to the clearing and noticed the other players also going in the same direction.

"So the Nerf War ended?" he asked.

Kendall noticed he was a bit disappointed, "yeah, until next week, every first week of the new month it starts over, we got in the final round of this week and this month."

"Since it's the last week of April this month's today was the last day of the Nerf War until next week?"

He nodded, "but why did you say today was the final round for the week?"

"Every week is a new round; it starts on every Sunday and ends every Saturday. Every day all of the teams fight against each other and at the end of the week the Generals tally up the scores and announce the winner of the month."

"Wow," Carlos breathed, "is that what Nerf Wars are like?"

"In this city it is."

"Kendall!"

They both turned to see Tyler running towards them with the largest grin Carlos had ever seen on a human being. Kendall smiled at his expression, "let me guess we won right?"

His answer was a loud cheer coming from the other players as they screamed, yelled, and some hugged each other in victory.

"Heck yeah we did!" Tyler said ecstatically. "Most of us are going to the pizza parlor nearby to celebrate you coming?"

Kendall took out his phone and groaned at the time, "shit, it's late sorry Kyle, but we gotta go."

"What? It's only five twelve."

"Fuck," Carlos said as Kendall grabbed their weapons and their belt and gave them to Tyler all at once.

"Tell Dylan, congrats and we'll see him next week for the next game and-oh! we're keeping the bandanas." He quickly grabbed the prices they won from the arcade and turned to Carlos, "we have to run if we want to make it to the bus station on time."

They both wasted no time as they started to run and left the clearing. They soon reached the main pathway of the park passed by surprised pedestrians, they managed to cross streets, and avoid a few police officers when they yelled warnings, honking cars, and angry people when they accidentally bump into them. In less than twenty minutes they were able to get to the bus station; Kendall quickly bought two tickets to the bus to Spring Valley, after being in line for ten minutes, and found their bus. They boarded it and both sat on the nearest empty seats and trying to catch their breaths as the driver started the engine and left the station.

"Best…Day…Ever…" Carlos breathed when he found his voice. Kendall gave him smile and his prizes before they continued to rest, when the bus started to move they fell asleep as fatigue swept over them.

* * *

Kendall was the first to wake up from his nap; he blinked as his eyes slowly adjusted themselves and covered his mouth when he yawned. He straightened in his seat and turned to see Carlos still sleeping soundly against the window. He looked out the window and noticed the large houses and small stores and concluded they were near the bus station. Rubbing his shoulders to get rid of the sore muscles he immediately started planning on what to do tomorrow, he had enough money for three more trips to Spring Valley, one to go back home and two for next Saturday. He could earn the money throughout the week by working extra hours at the grocery store and mowing the neighborhoods lawns. Kendall thought he could take Carlos to the hockey rink or go to the theatres to watch a movie or-.

He heard a small groan and turned to see Carlos rubbing his eyes as he moved away from the window. Before he could speak he saw the latino grow stiff and his wide with fear, gently he placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "Carlos, are you okay?"

A sharp sting was the first thing Carlos felt when he slightly shifted; letting out a small groan he moved until he was a bit comfortable and rubbed his eyes. When his vision cleared, he felt his muscles tense and his eyes widened when he saw the houses and the blue sky moving quickly past him. Where was he? What's going on? What's Logan doi-.

"Carlos, are you okay?" he turned to see Kendall with a concerned expression. Memories of the last few hours came back to his mind and realized where he was.

He sighed in relief and gave the blonde a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, just got out of reality for a moment."

Kendall nodded after he understood the meaning in Carlos's words. "We're almost there."

He glanced out the window again and frowned, "yeah."

"So I was thinking," Kendall said with a small smile. "What are we going to do next Saturday?"

"Next Saturday?" he said turning to him, with a question look.

He nodded, "yeah I was thinking of going to the ice rink or the theatre or the pool or-,"

Carlos smiled as he heard more of Kendall's ideas. They continued talking until the bus parked and they had to get off. They both stretched when they got off the bus and took shaky steps before Kendall bought a ticket for himself to get back to the city before they walked to the direction of Logan's mansion. The sun was nearly setting in the horizon the orange, purple, and pink sky fading into dark blue and black as some of the shops were open while others were closing for the night.

When Logan's mansion came into view, Carlos took a moment to stare at it, the sudden urge to not to go back stopped him when he thought about Logan. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about his dimple smile and when he kisses his forehead or cheek how his brown chocolate eyes sparkle when he laughs. The mansion's lights was the only thing making it's paint glow, the lights around it that used to be fueled by oil are lit giving the structure a majestic glow.

Carlos gave out a sigh before he and Kendall went around toward the gardens, most of the cars that were parked there were now gone. They both stopped when they found the hidden door, Kendall reached forward and with some difficulty found the knob in the dark and pushed. "You're going to be alright, finding your way back to your area?"

He nodded, "yeah."

"Do you have a Facebook?"

He shook his head, "no, but I do have an email address."

After giving Kendall his email address they both said their goodbyes promising to contact each other until next Saturday. Carlos closed the door leaving it a bit open, he faintly heard Kendall's footsteps as he left and turned towards the mansion's glass doors. Cautiously he looked inside and quietly closed it behind them before taking the same route he did hours ago when he left. When he reached the door he placed his hand on the knob, slowly he turned the knob and jiggled it a bit before it opened. He entered and closed the door behind him the familiar faint click it made echoed in the living room.

Ignoring the echo he headed towards his bedroom, the first thing he did was open the window widely closing his eyes feeling the warm breeze brush his skin. Opening them he saw the city's lights in the distance twinkling like the stars in the night sky. He flinched when he moved his arm and looked down to see a small bruise; looking at both of his arms closely he noticed a few more bruises and dirt on his skin. He placed the blue bandana on his bed and hid his prizes in his closet before picked a pair of gray sweat pants and a white wife beater shirt and a towel. After washing his body from dirt and grime he got dressed and walked to his back to his bedroom throwing the dirty clothes into the hamper. He went back to the window and crossed his arms laying his head on his forearms staring at the city. A smile spread across his lips as he remembered his day with Kendall at the arcade and the park, he made a mental note to find his Nerf guns and start using them for practice.

He heard a familiar chirp and lowered his gaze to see a familiar blue bird flying towards him, Carlos moved back so the Eastern Blue Bird could perch on his arm, "hey Sapphire."

She fluttered and chirped as a hello then quickly turned around and pointed her beak at the city at the same time tapping his arm with her claw. Carlos smiled in understanding, "I had the best day ever Sapphire."

She turned back towards him and raised her head having her full attention, "I went to the arcade and played lots of games and then to the park-,"

She flapped her wings and gave a loud chirp, he chuckled, "it was beautiful, so many trees…"

She tapped his arms 'yes!'.

"I was in a Nerf War too, it was so cool, man I can't wait till next Saturday," she cocked her head to the side. "Yup I'm going back out to the city again next Saturday."

She moved her head again but this time forward giving him what seemed like a questioned expression 'can you survive for the week?'

"I can talk to Kendall online and take advantage of the week by practicing my aim," he stretched his finger and raised his thumb into a makeshift gun closing one eye and aiming at Sapphire.

She chirped and made a click sound before flapping her wings. Carlos recognized it whenever she heard the click of the door being open or closed when Logan make his appearance known.

He took a moment to comprehend what Sapphire meant about Logan, his eyes widened when he understood what she meant, "shit! I did not think about that."

He was too focused about what to do next Saturday that he forgot if Logan will be gone for the entire day or not. He will have to tell Kendall about this new dilemma when the blonde sends a message, groaning he laid his forehead on his arms his plans now ruined for next Saturday. A thought popped into his mind similar to the one in the morning about Logan hiding him from the world, did he not want to go outside other than his safety? Was there another reason? He never brought up the subject as if he didn't mind locking Carlos in his area, why did he-.

Feeling a slight tap on his forehead he looked up to see Sapphire pointing at the city again. "What?"

She flew out the window and flew up towards the sky chirping and flying around in circles. Carlos noticed she was flying around the brightest stars in the sky, he remembered the last time she did that when he woke up from a nightmare. Luckily he had the window open that night and Sapphire was there to comfort him; she flew out the window towards the sky circling the brightest stars. It was a hidden message between the two, it meant to the look on the brighter side of the darkest times, like watching the brightest stars in the dark sky to know that there was a bit of good even in the worse times.

Carlos smiled and raised his hand, Sapphire flew back down and landed on it before he lowered it and she jumped toward the window sill. "Thanks Sapphire."

She chirped and tapped the window sill.

"I can think of a way to go back outside, I did it once I can do it again." Sapphire chirped in encouragement, "Kendall and I can come up with ideas and I can let him know when Logan's not here…but that can wait till tomorrow in a new day."

He laid his back down on his arms with a smile, his worries and troubled thoughts fading away for now, comforted by Sapphire's feathers brushing his cheekbone when she stood next to him both enjoying each other's company staring at the city in serene silence.

* * *

**Hope you like it!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Beginning**

Logan wished he was with Carlos, he always wished he was with Carlos no matter what time of day or where he was, in his home or some foreign country, he always wanted to be with Carlos. This was one of those nights where he desperately wished time would go faster so he could be with the latino watching a movie or two and be able to be close to him and, if he was lucky, be able to cuddle with him too.

The charity event was held in a large ballroom in one of the most fabulous (and richest) hotels in the Midwest. The event was to provide money for schools that don't have enough money in their budget for student's education, art, and sport programs; anybody who was anybody was there to do a worthy cause. Many had their own reasons, some for publicity, others to make business, but the main one was to make profit, whether it was to look good in front of the camera or to make deals with other businessmen. It's profit.

Logan had formal black suit with a blue tie; he was there to represent his company along with a few other representatives as well. He and his best friend James, who also came to represent his mother's company, were sitting in a table close the stage, where a few celebrities sang for entertainment and speakers talked about the cause. The brunette mentally sighed when he looked at his cell phone for the hundredth time that night.

"I know that look," James commented, after the brunette glanced at his phone. The taller male had a gray suit with a black tie and an expensive silver watch on his wrist.

"What look?"

He gave him a 'you know what I mean' expression.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's obvious you want to be anywhere than here," _preferably with Carlos. _He said the last part mentally even though Logan knew what he thought.

Logan grabbed his drink and took a sip, "aren't you going to mingle and find someone for the night?" he asked wanting to change the subject.

He shrugged, "maybe, depends."

The brunette raised a brow, ever since James had that encounter with the teen. What was his name? Ken? Kyle? Kendall. He was pretty sure his name was Kendall. James had not been talking about who he was probably going to get with at the charity event, as far as he knew. The taller male had spent more time in his home today and roamed the halls as if he was looking for something or someone before he left, reluctantly, to get ready for the event.

Before he could he could open his mouth to speak another voice beat him to it, "Good evening gentlemen."

Both males turned toward the voice to see a blonde young woman in an almost revealing dress. Her hair was in an elegant ponytail, her face completely and expertly placed with make-up with jewelry in her hair, ears, and neck. She also had a short blood red dress with matching open toe heels; she fluttered her eyes and gave each of them smile at the two as she sat in the empty chair between them.

"Mercedes," Logan greeted with a nod.

"The pleasure is all ours," James said with a smile, showing off his pearly white teeth.

_Leave it to James to flirt with women that comes to him_, Logan thought.

Mercedes Griffin was the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the corporate world, Arthur Griffin. If there was anything any of the Griffin family wanted they would get it in the snap of their fingers and writing a check. They say that if anyone declined one of the Griffins they were never heard of or spoke to again. He also placed one of his top employer's to organize and host the charity event.

"Have any of you gotten the list of the schools we're helping?" she asked while looking at her manicured nails.

"No we haven't," Logan answered as he took another sip of his drink.

"I'll send one of the waiters to give you one, my father told me he is expecting a meeting with you and some of the other board members to discuss something about stocks and revenues." She said, with a bored tone. Apparently Logan isn't the only one who wanted to be here, everyone knew Mercedes and her outgoing personality. She loved going to clubs and parties and spend a large majority of her father's money on clothes, cars, and luxurious items. Her outings are legendary especially her evenings.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"This also goes for you and your mother James."

James gave a nod, while staring at his drink, "I'll inform Brooke about it after the event."

"Nice chatting with you two," she suddenly got up and walked to the next table, not letting the two male businessmen say their goodbyes.

"How long is this event again?" James asked not bothering to check the time from his watch and more concentrating on his drink as he quickly finished it.

Logan smirked, "you and I both know she won't go out with you."

"Shut up."

A waiter suddenly appeared with two envelopes on a silver platter and carefully placed it in front of them. "More wine sirs?"

James immediately raised his glass. As the waiter poured his glass Logan opened the envelope and looked at the list of schools they were helping. After the waiter poured wine on Logan's cup he left and James nearly finished his cup in two large sips. He then grabbed the envelope and opened it, as he scanned the paper he held the letter tightly in his hands when he came across one of the schools in the list. He read it multiple times to make sure he wasn't imagining it, but it was there in bold cursive letters, Palmwoods High. The same school Kendall goes to, where he learns, play hockey, and creates his amazing draw-he quickly shook his head before trying to not drown in his thoughts about the teen.

Quickly taking out his phone he touched the screen and went to the internet. He typed in Kendall's school in the search box, after the results showed up he went to 'maps' and clicked 'schools' surrounding the blonde's. A few more results popped out, he grabbed the envelope and made a mental list of the schools closest to the blonde's, there were two middle schools that were on the list and were closest to Kendall's. Saving the information in his phone, he put it away and took out a check book, writing three separate checks to the schools he searched.

Logan watched him with a scrutinized gaze, he's never seen James get into a charity event before, except for the time when they were auctioning off attractive women and when he was being fought over when he participated in one. He was caught off his train in thought by one of his representatives; a young female brunette cleared her throat and placed a check in front of him. "I'm sorry to bother sir, but this needs your signature for the donation."

Logan carefully looked at the check and grabbed a pen from his pocket; he signed the check and gave it back to the representative. She said a small 'thank you' and left the table, Logan watched her as she placed the check in the donation box one of Griffin's employers were walking around with on a silver platter before he turned back to his drink. He had faith in his employees to do a well done job in his corporation, but if it was one thing he learned from his father is to never trust anyone, who works close or has a low status employment. After a few incidents where it involved a few of his father's most faithful employees stealing money from the bank inconspicuously with his name, it became his number one rule.

James was the only other person he trusted other than Carlos, since he knew about the latino, he trusted him with his secret. At the thought of James he turned to see the tall male smiling as he watched another one of Griffin's employer's place a few checks inside a wooden box guessing it was James' check from the grin he had.

"So, any plans for the week?" James asked after he took a sip from his drink, temporarily distracting Logan from his questioning thoughts.

* * *

The first thing Kendall did when he got home was place his prizes in his room and the bear he won on Katie's bed. He then went to the kitchen and found a note written by his mom explaining that she and Katie went to a friend's house and will come home late. When he read the part where his mom left food for him, he discarded the letter and dove for the fridge. After microwaving it for a minute or two he ate and contemplated what he will do with Carlos next Saturday. With the money Carlos had they could both go to the zoo or a museum, he'll probably like that since Logan never took him outside, he bet that Carlos know about animals, from the Animal Channel or by reading or-he stopped chewing when a memory popped into his head.

"_When does Logan come back?"_

_He shrugged, "he said he'll be back later although that could be hours."_

"_What about tomorrow?"_

"_He said he won't be here tomorrow for the entire day."_

"_Perfect."_

After swallowing his food the blonde moved the bowl and banged his head on the table. He should have talked about that before he dropped off Carlos at Logan's mansion. Moving his head he looked at the clock hanging above the fridge and saw that it was twenty five to nine. Carlos would have gone to bed early tonight especially after his first day outside, at the thought of today's Nerf War he lifted his head off the table and moved his shoulders. He flinched at the sharp pain when his muscles contracted for a moment before they relaxed, after rubbing his right shoulder he finished his meal and then went to his room. After he got a pair of brown pajama pants, and a towel from the closet in the hallway, he made his way to the bathroom.

Kendall placed his stuff near the sink and twisted the knob turning on the water and then stripped and placed the dirty clothes near the door; he placed a hand underneath until it was warm. He went inside and sighed in relief at the hot water hitting his skin relaxing his muscles, after nearly an hour of showering to get the dirt off his arms, face, and neck he changed and grabbed his dirty clothes and went to his room.

He placed them in the hamper near his door, he then went to his small desk and opened his laptop and went online. He went to his email account and typed a message then typed Carlos's email address and clicked 'Send,' after saving his email address he got off online and turned off his laptop before he went to his bed and lifted the covers and comforted himself. He closed his eyes and unconsciously placed his hand near his heart before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

After a couple hours of entertainment and a speech or two, Logan and James went into their own limos after bidding each other goodnight. When Logan reached his mansion he quickly went inside and ignored some of the night staff after one of them took his coat and headed straight to Carlos's area. He took the key out of pocket and went inside quietly closing it behind him he went to his room and smiled at the sight of the latino sleeping peacefully in bed. He walked to him, he leaned down and kissed his forehead, "sweet dreams Carlos," he said after he brushed his cheek with his hand. He felt a slight breeze and looked up to see the window open, looking back down he noticed that Carlos was facing it as he slept.

With a sigh he went toward the window and closed it then went back to Carlos and raised the covers a bit tucking them underneath his chin. He gave him loving gaze before he turned and left quietly closing the door behind him and making sure he locked the door after he left his area. Holding the key tightly in his hand he went to his room for the night, his room was a lot different from the guest rooms; it was larger and had a balcony overlooking the small town the mansion was built in front of. It had dark green walls, with white curtains drawn for the night, dark mahogany furniture, a large canopy bed, and a large bathroom. Logan stripped into his boxers and placed his phone and his key next to each other before he went to bed for the night.

* * *

James stared out the window of the city as a plan formed in his mind after he left the charity event. The tall male lived in the outer edge of the city in an area where other businessmen and some high income families live. He lived in a large two story house that was a lot like Logan's mansion, in property size, only it was newer, a bit small and had medium size lawn with beds of flowers, a swimming pool along with a hot tub, and a large garage filled with expensive cars.

When the limo stopped in front of his house, his chauffeur opened his door and tipped his hat as a silent goodbye as he closed the door and went around the limo back to the driver sear. James walked to his house and unlocked the front door; he smiled at the sound of a small bark and looked down to see a familiar Klee Kai puppy wagging his tail.

"Hey Fox," he bent down and picked him up. "How's my buddy doing?"

He barked again and James took it as a happy sign and carried Fox to his room. He opened the door to his room and placed Fox on top of it; it was large and had red walls, a king size bed with black covers, there was a large TV hanging on the wall, a walk in closet, and a large bathroom. While Fox was getting himself comfortable on his bed, James went to his closet and picked out a gray silk long sleeve button up pajama shirt and silk pajama pants. Then he went to his bathroom and took of his clothes off replacing them with the pajama and combed his hair before he left, he got in bed and stared at the ceiling getting lost in his thoughts again.

For the next few weeks James will keep checking his emails to know when the checks he wrote will make their way to the schools he donated to. He made sure to write the checks to those schools and once they were administered he would make a visit and try to find the blonde in his school. He really didn't care about the other schools, but he didn't want to attract any unwanted attention while he tried to look for Kendall. Once he does he'll slowly change him to the point where all the blonde wants is him and _only _him. To a normal person this would have been the craziest and most disturbing thoughts towards a teenager and start to consider making an appointment with a therapist. But to James it didn't, he never been infatuated with a person before it scared him, but at the same time he couldn't help but smile at the way Kendall's eyes glowed when he grinned or how he blushed when he kissed his hand. He would imagine holding the teen in his arms and pepper him with soft kisses on his skin and lips until they were both left breathless.

He can follow Logan's example and keep him in his house, he will have everything he need and want. Since the blonde likes to draw he would need to buy art supplies and he could make one of his guest rooms into an art studio. James shook his head, he was getting too far ahead of himself he still has to figure out a way to make him disappear from his old life. He would have to figure out his schedule to find the perfect opportunity to take him, once he had him he would have to find a way to keep him here. He bet his lucky comb that Kendall won't come to him so easily, he needed to find his weak spots or black mail him, but that would make the blonde hate him and he didn't want that. Another thought popped into his head, what if he 'mysteriously' loses his memory? If Kendall had no memories of his old life then James could create new ones, ones that would benefit to his favor.

However, being friends with a doctor and CEO of hospital management, he picked up a thing or two about the human brain. It's a complicated area of the human body, the most complex computer on Earth that even scientists and doctors don't know much about it even with modern technology and new ones that are being made every year that is at least five years ahead of James' time. The tall male shook his head again and rubbed his temples, he was starting to think like a sci-fi novel. Still though, there is a, very, slight possibility that getting rid of Kendall's memories might work. He turned to his side and closed his eyes, pushing the thought and his plan away to think about tomorrow. He imagined what it will be like to hold Kendall in his arms in bed, feeling his body warm beside his own, his lips touching his cheek as a goodnight kiss, and his soft breathing lulling him to sleep. For a moment he wished it was reality and made a promise to himself to make sure it will come true in the future.

* * *

**I don't think this chapter was good, in my opinion. But this is what came into my head and thought it help the story.**

**Hope you enjoyed it! **

**IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMENT: for the next chapter I have a little bit of trouble because I am (almost) having writer's block...again. But I do know where this story is going I just got to put extra stuff to make sense and for it to be good for you guys. Yeah, thought I had to tell you in case you don't see any more updates. Oh! and thank you for those who favorited, alerted, and reviewed, it means a lot to me. Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Oblivious**

After waking up to the familiar tap on his window from Sapphire; the first thing Carlos did was let her in before he went to the farthest part of his closet where he stashed his toys and rummaged through it trying to find his Nerf guns. After a few minutes of causing a huge mess, he found a Nerf spectre, a Nerf strike-n barricade, and his own Nerf long strike, placing them on his bed he went toward his desk and went through the cabinets before he found capsules full of orange darts. He placed them next to the Nerf guns and then left his room heading to kitchen with Sapphire perched on his shoulder for breakfast.

Before he could grab the cereal box, Sapphire quickly flew and hid on top of the fridge. Carlos quickly turned around and walked to the living room, a smile appearing on his face when he saw the tall brunette. Logan returned his smile and walked to him enveloping him in a hug and giving a kiss on his temple resulting in a blushing latino. "Good morning Carlos."

He cleared his throat, "morning Logan, how was the charity event?"

Shrugging he let him go and took a step from him, "it wasn't bad, but to tell you the truth I would have rather spent the evening with you."

Two thoughts went across Carlos's mind. _We could have watched Cars together _and _Thank God, you didn't_.

A loud growl broke his train of thought, the latino's blush spread across his neck, when Logan chuckled, "have you had breakfast yet?"

He shook his head. Logan placed his hand on his lower back pushing him towards the kitchen, "come on let me cook something for you, how does scrambled eggs sound?"

In fifteen minutes Carlos was eating scrambled eggs with bacon, toast, and an orange juice. Logan beamed whenever Carlos made a silent 'yum' after every bite. "You never answered my question," Carlos said after he took a sip from his juice, "how was the charity event? You didn't give any details."

He bit his lip; Carlos placed his fork down, having his full attention. There were only three reasons why Logan bit lip, one was because he had something on his mind, the other was because he was worried about something, and finally holding back laughter.

"The event was alright, but," Logan clasped his hands in front of him, trying to organize his thoughts inside his mind. "James was acting strange."

"What's new about that?" this earned a chuckle from the brunette.

"No it wasn't that." He shook his head as he played last night's event in his head. "He seemed determined about something, when I tried to ask there was always some sort of interruption, I never got the chance to speak."

"Did it have to do with what the charity event was about?" he asked.

"Maybe," he placed his elbows on the table and laid his chin on his hand. "He did look at the list like it was a brand new sports car."

"What list?"

"It was a list of schools that the charity money was going to."

"He probably recognized a high school he went to." Carlos said, after he took a bite of his toast.

"No," he leaned back on his chair and shook his head. "He grew up in California before he moved to Minnesota."

"Do you think there was something familiar on the list he recognized that made him…" the latino faltered wanting to let Logan finished his sentence to help him out what James was feeling.

"Excited," he said as he assumed that's what James felt when he saw the list. "He seemed excited when his checks were placed in a donation box." _What was he excited for?_ He questioned. Normally James will tell him about his thoughts, about his business, his family, he was his only friend and vice versa, they talked about everything together. It bothered him that there was something James was hiding from him. Is he purposely not telling him? If so for what reason? Logan shook his head, he'll ask James later today, he shouldn't be thinking or talking about anything beyond Carlos's home. It might make the latino more persistent, wanting to leave the mansion.

"So, how was your day yesterday?" he asked, changing the subject.

Carlos paused, "yesterday?" he was a bit disappointed that Logan won't talk to him anymore about his evening last night. But he knew it was futile to continue, whenever it had to do with the outside world, Logan will immediately talk about something else much to his disappointment.

He tapped his chin in thought choosing his next words carefully, "I played a few video games." _At an arcade at a mall in the city._ "Watched some tv." _I went to the park. _"read a little bit of comics." _I was in a Nerf War. _"Played my guitar." _I got in a bus!_ "The usual." He finished with a shrug and quickly went back to his breakfast, not wanting to look directly into Logan's eyes.

A sudden noise made the latino turn to him, he watched as Logan pressed a button on his phone before he placed it back in his pocket. "Gotta go to work." The brunette said as he stood up, Carlos pushed his now finished plate away from him and quickly stood up both walking to the living room.

Logan gave Carlos another smile and took a step towards him, he grabbed him in a hug and kissed his temple again and slid his hands to Carlos's lower back. They shivered at the touch, luckily neither of them noticed as Logan took a step back, but still kept him in his arms. "I'll see you later."

Carlos nodded, Logan smiled and raised his hand, placing it on his chin and moved his thumb, across his bottom lip. The latino felt his heart skip a beat, he was so close, he could smell a slight hint of mint emitting from his mouth and felt his hands near his-Logan removed his arms and took out a key from his pocket unlocking the door and opened it. "After every meal make sure to wipe your mouth okay?"

"Y-yeah, I w-will." He raised his hand and gave him a short wave, "bye Logan."

The brunette closed the door and heard the familiar click of the door before his footsteps faded away. Carlos walked to the door and laid his forehead on the wood, feeling empty without having Logan close to him and felt something cold on his hand. Looking down he realized he was holding the door knob with a tight grip, the temptation to open the door and leave was overwhelming him, taking a deep breath he let go and took a step back quickly heading toward the kitchen.

He placed the empty plate in the kitchen and whistled, signaling Sapphire that Logan was gone. She flew off the fridge landing on the kitchen table; Carlos grabbed a bag of her usual berries and a jar of nuts mixing them in a small bowl. He placed it in front of her and she gave him a small chirp as thanks. The latino went back to his room to change and shower, before he logged on to his classes. He decided to wait until the afternoon to check his email account to see if Kendall replied to make a new plan and made a mental note to ask Logan when his busiest day of the week will be the next time he visits. He also made a mental note to check the recycling bin for bottles and cans to use for target practice.

* * *

James found out that his check won't be into Kendall's school's budget until the next three weeks. It gave him plenty of time to prepare the blonde's space to be remodeled in his home to buy the necessary furniture and supplies he will need so he could be comfortable, and time to see Logan's medication storage information.

The CEO called him earlier for lunch and decided to tell him about the medication storage and see if he could get his hands on it. He arrived at Logan's mansion in the afternoon and went inside and to the second floor near one of the brunette's private study rooms. He went inside and walked toward opened doors leading to a balcony, Logan was there sitting with plate of his lunch, James sat across from him in front of his own meal.

"Hey Logan," he smiled.

He raised a brow, "what's with you?" he asked skipping formalities and getting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" James asked taking a sip from his drink.

"You've been acting strange last night…and you didn't take a woman or a man to a hotel either?"

He raised a brow, "you're assuming I'm strange because I didn't have sex last night?"

"Yes…part of it."

James sighed and leaned back on his chair, "I'm going to be honest to you Logan, not because I owe you an explanation, but because you're my friend and you have a right to know, since I want to ask you something that involves with my plan."

"What plan?"

He took another sip of his drink, before he looked at Logan straight in the eye and spoke, "I'm planning to make Kendall mine."

Logan sighed, "James he's a kid and it's illegal."

"Not unless you're caught," James pointed out. "And as long as no one knows where he is I have nothing to worry about."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked intrigued.

"I'm going to have him live with me," he said as if he was talking to a child.

"You're going to-okay say you miraculously did it how are you going to make sure the public, the media, and your mom don't find out about your relationship?"

"The same way the world doesn't know about Carlos."

The brunette placed his hands on his lap and clenched his fists underneath the table, a habit he developed whenever the latino was mentioned in their conversations. "It won't work," Logan said with a stoic expression, "Carlos was raised indoors and is used to his life. Kendall isn't."

"Ah!" he said and pointed a finger at him. "That's the thing I want to ask you about that would help me with my plan."

"And what is that?"

"What do you know about memory manipulation?"

Logan cannot believe what he was hearing; his best friend was asking a question that deals with the brain and a bunch of medical stuff he has no comprehension or understanding of it.

"You're kidding right?"

"I'm serious."

Logan gave him a scrutinized gaze, but he can tell by the way his eyes held determination to accomplish his goal.

"Manipulating memories are impossible, except in cases of head trauma or psychological and health problems," he said trying to discourage James into going forward with his plan. It's not that he didn't want him to go after Kendall, but he didn't want James to destroy his reputation and could wait a few years until he was legal for them to get together publicly.

"I did a little research early this morning," he said surprising Logan he used the word research and early morning not with words business or she/he. "I found out that a Doctor Hawk has been researching about determining the functions of different systems in the brain that causes to make memories or the concept that refers to the process of remembering. Since memories are senses that has been stored in the brain through cells and transmitting information with one another, he found a way to manipulate those senses change them into new memories or take them away. I also found out that Doctor Hawk was part of a project you made for making new medicine and funded his research thinking it could help people with mental disorders or diseases."

Logan stared at his best friend in absolute amazement and shock.

James smirked, "I'm not stupid you know, I'm just really lazy to listen, half of the time I don't understand it, and ignore conversations when it comes to those types of subjects."

The brunette took his glass and finished half of his drink before he cleared his throat and looked up at his taller friend. "I remember Hawk, he was very obsessive about his research and the changes it could make to the world. I was fascinated with it, I funded half of it, but he lied when he filed that the research was to help cure diseases instead it was for more…radical though he was known as a crazy man he was a genius because he created a drug that could do exactly what you just explained…and it works."

"You've seen it," James asked with a spark of hope.

He shook his head, "no, but I have seen the results with some people who volunteered for the experiment, they didn't remember what happened to them the day they did what they signed up for, but they did remember doing things they never actually did only what they were told."

"Do you have any of the drugs in storage?"

Logan clenched his teeth not wanting to reveal the information, but by the grin on James's features he saw right through him.

"Are there any side effects of using the drug?"

He crossed his arms, "doesn't matter because you won't use any of it."

"Is that a no?"

He sighed, "as far as I know there are no harmful side effects, but that doesn't mean I am giving you any."

"You know you can use it on Carlos right?" he said with a thoughtful tone, "because if you give him some, Carlos would never remember his dad or yours."

"I don't care what you do about Kendall, don't get Carlos mix into this and get the idea of messing with his brain out of yours, if you could come up with that idea surely you can make another and since you're hell bent on taking him your determinism will help you along the way."

He nodded and leaned back on his chair, "you're right I need to make back up plans in case that one goes sour, so about the meeting with Griffin..."

In less than a second their conversation turned casual as they talked about business and their free time other than the conversation before, however James couldn't get the idea out of his mind and decided to place it in the back of his mind for now until he can think about it more in detail later.

James wasn't the only one with the idea of manipulating memories, Logan was fascinated by the idea, but as a doctor it was radical, but it left an imprint on his mind to think how it can be used for alternative reasons.

* * *

Kendall dropped his sport bag and placed his hockey stick near his bed the minute he got home. He quickly made up a plan at school and decided to talk to him via email when he got home to discuss it with the latino to see if it could work or come up with a new one.

Logging on to his email account he typed his message and typed Carlos's email address before he sent it. He was surprised he got a message in less than three minutes and quickly read.

_HelmetsRCool: Hey Kendall! This is so cool! My 1__st__ chat with a friend :D_

Kendall let out a sad smile, before he typed.

_HockeyPlayer13: I'm glad you're happy. I was thinking the only reason you could go outside was because Logan wasn't there. Idk if Logan is there this Saturday so we're going to put our plans on hold before you could sneak out._

_HelmetsRCool: I was thinking the same thing. I'm going to ask Logan when he's gone the entire day or the week the next time he comes by my place. Once I get the info I'll let u kno._

The blonde raised an eyebrow.

_HockeyPlayer13: Logan can be gone for a week?_

_HelmesRCool: Yeah, he has business trips in other states, sometimes in other countries._

_HockyPlayer13: Ever had a sleepover?_

_HelmetsRCool No, r they fun?"_

_HockeyPlayer13: Very, first tell me so we could arrange the day or something, if you could get his plans for the entire month then that will be even better._

_HelmetsRCool: No problem mi amigo I'll let u kno 2morrow or later today._

_HockeyPlayer13:Great, I gotta go my mom's telling me to do my HW or else…_

_HelmetsRCool: Haha! Loser! I already did mine!_

_HockeyPalyer13:…..We will settle this like men…..in other words multiple rounds with your Xbox._

_HelmetsRCool: Can't wait to defeat-I mean go against you._

_HockeyPalyer13: You will be the looser, soon. _

Kendall ended the conversation with a goodbye before he reluctantly began to do his homework.

* * *

**I am so sorry ! I know that I haven't updated in a while and I am so sorry for that I will try to update as soon as I can. I was able to get over my writer's block for this chapter, but I am having a hard time writing the next chapter...I am not giving up this story I am determined to finish this no matter what.**

**I hope you like it, review please : )**


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